Death and the Swordsman
by Leelei
Summary: (Finished) UXY JXA Troubled by the horrible luck he has been having, Ulrich wishes for his death and receives it. Now he has a chance to look into the future and see how his loss will affect everyone he knows and loves.
1. Chapter I

Death and the Swordsman

By: Leelei

Author's Note: This was a spur of the moment idea that is turning into an epic. Some parts may seem a little mature, but the rating should cover it. If you like _It's a_ _Wonderful Life_, or Charles Dickens' _A Christmas Carol_, you might enjoy this story. But that's all the hints I'll give you for now! :D Starts out slow, so please stick around for later chapters! (and please leave a review, too!)

P.S.: For all who haven't read my other stories- I am in a never-ending format battle with this web site, so I apologize if this comes out looking like total crap. I am trying my best, and it's one of my goals to get this thing working right. ; )

* * *

Ulrich ran down the soccer field, his feet feeling like weights as he dragged himself across the soft, green grass. He watched his other teammates kicking the soccer ball back and forth between each other as they dodged the opposing team members, waiting for the brunette boy to reach his mark. Panting and gasping for air, Ulrich slid to a stop a distance from the net and yelled to his teammates.

By then, Odd had retrieved the soccer ball and pushed past the other team, finding a small out to make a pass. "Ulrich!" he shouted. "Heads up, buddy!" The young blonde reached his leg back and swung at the ball, launching it into the air above the other kids on the field, and right above his friend.

Ulrich still panted as he looked up, waiting and watching as the ball started to fall towards him. Clenching his teeth together and gathering his strength, he bent down and shot up in one quick motion, throwing his leg out in front of him as he flipped backwards and kicked out at the falling ball. He had performed the move on nearly every field; the last shot of the game that would gain his team the winning point.

But that time, Ulrich didn't feel the ball's contact with his foot. That moment where he kicked the ball never came and his back fell to the ground with a thud, the ball following with a hard smack to his thigh.

Time seemed to have stopped for him then. The thought raced through his mind that he had messed up. _'Did I actually_ miss _the ball?,'_ the questions clouded his thoughts. _'I can't believe I actually missed…' _

"OW!" he cried out loud as he snapped back to reality and lifted himself up at the waist, grabbing his injured thigh. He looked up to see the other team rush over to him and a tall boy kick the ball away from where it had rolled next to him. He ran it straight to the other end of the field, scoring a goal for his own team to break the tie and win the game. Jim, the Kadic Phys. ed. teacher, then blew his whistle, signaling the end of the game and for all of the students to return to the locker rooms to shower and change.

Ulrich heaved an aggravated sigh as he closed his eyes and let his head loll back after propping himself with his hands.

"Hey man, what happened?" a familiar voice asked as he opened his eyes again and looked up to the side, seeing Odd standing above him and holding a hand out. "That was your move!"

"I know…" Ulrich mumbled in frustration, looking away and ignoring the offer as he got up on his own with some difficulty from the injury.

"Ulrich, don't worry about it," Odd said as he followed behind the limping boy. "It is just a game, after all. I'm sure no one cares."

Ulrich scowled at the defeat as he looked around and saw the other students on his team returning to the locker rooms. They were obviously irritated as their expectations of winning because they were finally chosen to be on the all-star soccer player's team were crushed. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Let's just hurry up and get back before Jim asks us where Jeremie is."

Odd frowned at his friend's depressed state but continued to follow behind him, not trying to cheer him up for fear of agitating him any more.

At lunch the following period, Odd brightened back up at the sight of their two other close friends, but Ulrich's glum mood was unchanged. The usual group found a table after getting their lunches, Odd and Jeremie sitting next to each other, with Yumi across from them and Ulrich flopping down next to her. Their conversation went on without the brown-haired boy's participation.

"So Jeremie, what did you and Aelita talk about during Phys. ed.?" Odd asked before he began hungrily shoveling food into his mouth.

"Nothing really specific, I was mostly just answering her questions about Earth." Jeremie replied as he balanced a spoonful of peas. "I didn't want to cut her off, so I just skipped gym again."

"You know, they're not going to keep ignoring your missed classes, Jeremie. Even a good student like you may not be able to survive Jim's complaints to the principal forever." Yumi informed him as she leaned on the table and slid her fork into the warm macaroni and cheese on her plate.

Jeremie just shrugged his shoulder. "I'll stop skipping when she's here," he said in response, not needing to identify who he was talking about.

"Well, then at least that will be soon," the raven-haired girl added and smiled encouragingly. She was pleased at her friend's thankful smile in return. Turning her attention to her left, Yumi then noticed how Ulrich was excluding himself. "Ulrich, are you okay? You've been really quiet."

"I'm fine," Ulrich snapped sharply in reply. He returned to his slouched position, continuing to stare at his plate.

Yumi's brow furrowed in concern. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I told you, I'm fine."

"Ulrich."

He hated that tone in her voice. That way she seemed to be demanding something from him, as if he had disappointed her somehow. "I just had a bad day, that's all," he finally replied flatly, not wanting her to find any attitude or aggravation in his response.

"Oh," Yumi said, relaxing her set stare at him and looking back to her plate. "Well, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks," Ulrich replied distantly. His mood was still unaffected by her concern. "I'm going to go lay down for a while," he announced as he grabbed his tray. "Odd, come wake me up before Chemistry."

"Sure, but leave your food here. You didn't even touch it." Odd said with his mouth full of pie from his own tray.

"Fine," Ulrich concluded and pushed it away from him as he stood up to leave. He had just pushed his chair in and had turned around when he felt a grip on his hand. Looking over again, he saw the questioning look in Yumi's eyes.

"Do you still want to meet later?" she asked him quietly.

"Yeah, I do," he told her, inwardly becoming frustrated again by the idea of breaking their date. "I'll meet you there."

Yumi smiled and let him go. As much as the drudgeries of the day were weighing him down, Ulrich still managed a half-smile for her before he left the table. He knew he never showed it, but he treasured her love more than anything and, deep down inside, he knew that his life would seem meaningless without her.

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Okay, nothing to do with Christmas, but it's got the same theme as the classics of the season (That, and I was waaaayy too into reading _Everyman_ in English oo) Chapter two will be posted shortly! Thanks for reading and, once again, please review! ;D 


	2. Chapter II

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 2

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews so far. : ) Yes, Ulrich's going to die, but not for a few chapters. Seeing as how short this chapter is, I think I might post the next one at the same time.

* * *

_'Shit!' _Ulrich cursed in his thoughts like he usually did when he was angry. He checked the time on his cell phone before stuffing it into his pocket as he continued running through the school yard. _'I should've known that idiot wasn't going to come get me!' _he continued to fume as he raced towards his Chemistry classroom, hoping Mrs. Hertz would let him in late.

It had become cloudy during lunch, and by then the afternoon was dark and had took on the characteristics of evening. Because of the sudden darkness, Ulrich never saw the raise in the cement from the yard to the pavement, his foot ramming straight into the step and causing him to fall and catch himself with his hands, his books scattering all over the paved path. He seethed at the sharp pain from the scrapes on his skin, but quickly got up collected his schoolwork, hoping that his tongue never became as foul-mouthed as his thoughts were. After he had everything, he ran straight to the classroom.

Mrs. Hertz was already in the middle of the lesson when the door slammed open and Ulrich appeared, catching the attention of the other students in the room.

"Oh, crap!" Odd cried, wide-eyed as he looked up from his doodling and saw the perturbed boy, just then remembering his agreement to wake him up.

"Odd!" Mrs. Hertz reprimanded the blonde boy. "Try to contain your outbursts! And as for you, Ulrich, your tardiness is unacceptable. Please see me after class. Now hurry up and take your seat so we may continue."

"Sorry, ma'am." Ulrich responded as he hurried past her to his and Odd's shared desk. Once he sat down, he dropped his books on the table and pulled out his notebook. Odd opened his mouth to say something, but Ulrich cut him off with a quiet, but harsh whisper. "Odd, I really don't want to talk to you right now, but I want you to know that I'm going to kill you."

"That's what I thought you would say…" Odd said quietly to himself and went back to his own notebook.

After the bell ran for the end of the class, the gray-haired teacher called Ulrich up to her desk as the other students left. Jeremie and Odd waited outside the room for him.

"You know he's going to kill you, right?" Jeremie asked as he shifted his books under his arm.

"Yep," replied Odd as he leaned up against he wall. The door opened and Ulrich walked out, letting it shut behind him. Odd then pushed off the wall, regaining balance on his feet as he waited to follow the other two back to the dorm, the brunette boy smacking him on the back of his head before they left. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing right above his neck. "Okay, maybe I deserved that, but you could've at least let me apologize first, Ulrich."

"It doesn't matter. I still would've hit you." Ulrich shot back as he walked away from the two. Odd shared a glance with Jeremie, who just rolled his eyes and followed.

"So what did Mrs. Hertz say?" Odd asked as he tried to keep up with him.

"Nothing, just that she's not amused with my 'poor participation' and that she's calling my parents to let them know that my grades are slipping in her class." Ulrich replied with a sarcastic tone, keeping his attention forward as he trudged down the hall. "Oh, and that I had better have a good project to turn in tomorrow if I want a passing grade for this marking period."

"Ulrich, have you even started that project?" Jeremie asked as he thought about his own, finished and ready to turn in the next afternoon. He couldn't recall seeing Ulrich work on his.

"…No."

"And yet you're still meeting with Yumi tonight?" asked Jeremie, having overheard them at lunch.

Ulrich stopped as they reached the door to their dormitory, his hand already on the handle. "That's my business, not yours," he retorted coldly with a glance over his shoulder at the younger boy.

"Whatever," Jeremie replied in a careless voice. "She's over there now waiting for us by the tree, though. Aren't you going to talk to her?"

"Tell her not to be late." Ulrich said gruffly as he pulled the door open. "I'm going up to get my library card so I can finish that damn report." The glass had already clinked together before Ulrich looked back to see his friends walking away from the building and towards Yumi. He could also still see her from the landing as he started up the steps, and a guilty feeling washing over him when he noticed her turn away from Jeremie and Odd after they had started talking to her, no doubt having relayed his rude message.

"I'll make it up to her tonight," Ulrich promised himself out loud as he hurried up the rest of the stairs.

* * *

Okay, too short to stand alone, I know. I decided to go ahead and post the next chapter, too, since it has the real action starting in it. So I hope you keep reading! : ) (And keep reviewing, too! It's so nice to read those! :D) 


	3. Chapter III

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 3

By: Leelei

Author's Note: See? I told you it'd be here! ;D It's a long one, but I promise it's worth it!

* * *

The text within the book seemed to be moving closer and all the letters formed long, drawn out words as Ulrich's vision blurred from his continuous, unbroken span of reading. His head bobbed as he sat at the desk in the library nearly falling asleep, the science books scattered all around him. He had been searching for a topic to use for a project since that afternoon, and had finally come across directions for a simple volcano in an old textbook. It wasn't very original, but he knew he would be able to start and finish it in one night.

"This day blows," he groaned, rubbing his tired features and yawning.

"Attention," the speaker system in the quiet building suddenly announced. "The library will be closing in fifteen minutes."

Ulrich grabbed the book in front of him as he pulled himself up from the chair and stretched, searching around the study area for a copy machine. Once he found one, he fed it full of change and set it to make copies of the directions, not wanting to risk taking the book out with his current luck and having to pay all of the fines when he forgot to return it.

Finally, he thought as he stretched again while the machine lit up and began making copying noises. It wouldn't be long before he would be with his girlfriend and having a good time.

"Attention," the speaker system interrupted again. "It is now 8:45 P.M. The library will close at exactly 9 o'clock. Please bring any items that you would like to check out to the front desk now."

"Yeah, yeah." Ulrich waved off the announcement as he watched the copy machine finish up. He glanced over a the clock because of the mentioned time, then began pulling the warm copies out of the tray.

_'Oh, wait a minute. Hold on,' _he suddenly froze and thought frantically. _'Did she say that it's almost nine?'_ He looked to the clock again, but that time his eyes remained staring at it.

He had originally entered the library that afternoon with the intention that he would work on his project until the building closed, then would leave to meet Yumi right after. But, to his surprise, he had somehow managed to believe that the library closed at eight, and was relying on the announcements to warn him at 7:45. He was supposed to meet Yumi at exactly 8 o'clock.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, knowing that picking up swearing would never help the circumstance, but felt it was necessary to vent off his anger. He ignored the offended glares of the librarians as he shoved all of his papers into a folder and grabbed his notebook, leaving all the science references lying on the table as he dashed out of the building and ran directly to the movie theater.

He gasped for air as he grabbed onto the brick building while checking his cell phone. 9:05 P.M. He was supposed to meet Yumi in the same spot where he was standing over an hour earlier. After catching his breath, he let out a tired, frustrated sigh and turned around to make his way back to Kadic.

Without running, it took him nearly a half an hour to return to his dorm room, opening the door and finding it strange that it wasn't locked. He concluded that Odd must have forgotten to lock it and pushed it shut behind him after he had entered the room. Suddenly he jumped in place as a tall, dark figure caught his attention in the corner of his eye. His vision focused and he saw that it was Yumi, leaning against his wall with her arms folded across her chest.

"Yumi?" he asked. "How did you get in here?"

"I came to see what was taking you so long. Odd let me in when he stopped by to pick up his CD's before he went to go hang out with Sam." Yumi informed him coldly. "Are you happy? _I_ wasn't late."

Ulrich walked by to his desk, still feeling her glare as he tried not to look in her direction. "Look, I'm sorry," he said as he tossed his schoolwork on top of his other books. "I'm _really _having a bad day."

"That worked the first time, Ulrich, but now it seems like you just don't care anymore." Yumi snapped at him.

"What?" Ulrich whirled around to face her. "Wait a minute, I never said that."

"What did you say, Ulrich?" Yumi asked him. "Nothing. You said next to nothing. What, am I supposed to know what you're feeling every second of the day?"

"Okay, I know you're pissed that I didn't say hi after school, or whatever, and that I messed up our date, but now you're just blowing things out of proportion," Ulrich could feel the tension rising between them. "I've had a lot to do today, and I'm having a hard time dealing with it for some reason."

"Yeah, well what's been so out-of-the-ordinary? Is you life all of a sudden just a big collection of burdens? Ulrich, this is our third date now that you've broken. You have to at least care a little about what's going on around you." Yumi asked, folding her arms again and narrowing her eyebrows as she waited for his response.

Ulrich sighed mentally. They had just started dating when his string of bad luck began and he realized that Yumi must have linked his disappointing behavior to their new relationship. "Look, this has nothing to do with us."

"You're right," she countered. "Because there isn't going to be an 'us' for very long."

"Yumi-"

"Stop it, Ulrich," Yumi nearly shouted. "I'm sick of this." She paused, not knowing what else to say and leaving Ulrich unwilling to add anything after her outburst. "I'm done," she concluded and shook her head, turning to leave. "Good-night."

Her words processed slowly in Ulrich's mind, and the reality of what was happening finally hit him as she was walking out the door. "Yumi, wait!" he called to her and rushed over, trying to catch the handle as it slammed shut. He kicked the wall and swore again, throwing his back against the hard surface as he slid to the floor, remaining in his slumped position as he rubbed his forehead. "What is going on today?" he yelled in frustration.

After several minutes of brooding, he was in no mood to start his school project. He decided he was too angry to confront Yumi, fearing another outburst if he said the wrong thing, so he got up and left his room to go and talk with Jeremie, hoping his young friend would forgive him and help cheer him up.

He found the blonde boy sitting in front of his computer, as was his routine every night when the boarding Kadic students were required to be in their dorms for the evening. Jeremie was typing without breaking eye contact from the screen when Ulrich walked in, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Hey, Jeremie," he said with his eyes downcast, staring at the rug.

"Yes?" the young boy replied, still not moving from his position.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you and Odd earlier. I uh, I'm…just having a bad day, that's all."

Jeremie finally paused and turned his head slightly to show him a glance of a smile. "Don't worry about it, Ulrich. I understand. You can come sit down, if you want."

Ulrich managed to smile himself and continue into the room, plopping down on the end of Jeremie's bed and looking at the computer screen the blonde had returned his attention to. "Where's Aelita tonight?" he asked.

"She's…" Jeremie hesitated for a moment. "Just checking something she downloaded about Earth…it's nothing."

Ulrich just shrugged and climbed back onto the bed to sit up against the wall. "So what did I miss in Chemistry?"

"Nothing much," replied Jeremie. "Mrs. Hertz handed back our tests from last Friday. Did she give you yours?"

Ulrich let out a troubled snicker. "Yeah, but she might as well have used it for scrap paper," he mumbled the rest, "I bombed it so bad…"

Jeremie didn't respond, considering his own score was above one hundred percent along with the extra credit questions included. "Yumi stopped by to ask where you were. Did you talk to her tonight?"

"Oh, I talked to her…"

"That went bad too, huh?"

"Just your average nuclear explosion."

"So how long do you think it will take for this one to blow over?"

"To tell you the truth, Jeremie, I don't know if it will. I just-" Ulrich stopped and sighed as he fumbled his words. "It's just that I've been having these incredibly horrible days lately, and now they're starting to ruin my life!" He started to notice Jeremie's attention shift back and forth between the screen and the window above his computer. He continued anyway, "It's hard to explain…each day just keeps feeling like I'm falling further and further down into a hole, then when I think that things can't possibly get any lower, something else happens to knock me down again."

"Uh….Ulrich?"

"What?"

"I'd hate to break it to you, but your day is about to get much worse."

Ulrich opened his mouth to respond, but then looked out the window that Jeremie was then staring at. His jaw fell completely and his eyes widened at the large object speeding towards the window. He leapt off the bed and had just nearly pushed Jeremie out of his computer chair, the two boys toppling to the floor as a small wrecking ball smashed through the window and sent pieces of glass and the shattered computer flying throughout the room.

Ulrich pushed himself up from where he landed on top of Jeremie, lifting a piece of the broken plaster of the wall from his back as he did. "Aelita was checking for pulsations, wasn't she?" he asked bluntly, realizing what the virtual girl actually had been doing.

"Yeah, and she obviously found some, so let's go!" Jeremie replied in a frantic tone, ignoring his and Ulrich's cuts and bruises as they pulled themselves from the rubble and ran out of the room while the X.A.N.A. controlled wrecking ball crashed into the building again. They didn't bother with warning the other students in the dorm to evacuate, since they saw that they had already gotten the idea. The two made it out of the building and wasted no time running through the schoolyard to the covered manhole. Ulrich pulled out his cell phone.

"Odd?" he nearly yelled after his blonde friend picked up on a later ring. "Come to the factory, now!"

He could hear a girl's, most likely Sam's, laughter in the background. "Ulrich, what is it?" Odd asked.

"Odd, get over to the factory, _now!_ This is serious! X.A.N.A just demolished Jeremie's room with a wrecking ball!"

He could hear Odd's gasp. "What?" was all he could respond.

"Hurry up, Jeremie and I will meet you there!" Ulrich paused as he looked around while Jeremie started down the manhole. "And call Yumi's cell phone. She's probably still walking back to her house, so she can't be far."

Odd wanted to ask why he wasn't with her, but decided not to. "Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes," he replied and ended the call. Ulrich shoved his phone into his pocket and started down the steps.

Once they had made their way through the sewers and past the elevator lift, Jeremie sat down at the Super Calculator and connected to Lyoko.

"Jeremie, do you want me to go now?" Ulrich asked.

"No, I don't want you to risk loosing any your life points just yet," answered Jeremie as he put on his headset. "Aelita?"

"Jeremie!" Ulrich heard the pink-haired girl cry. "I found the pulsations! They're here in the mountain region. No signs of any monsters yet."

"Let me know as soon as you see them, and I'll send Ulrich." Jeremie informed her and switched to another window on the screen in front of him. He typed for a few moments and read the information he had found. "X.A.N.A. was looking for us, all right. From this image of the school right now, it seems like he was specifically after my dorm room. The wrecking ball is heading towards your and Odd's room now, but it's not picking up your body heat on its sensors."

"How much time do you think we have before it locates us here?" Ulrich asked.

Jeremie didn't reply right away. "Not very much."

"Jeremie, I see three hornets!" Aelita called.

Jeremie immediately closed the window and returned to her. "Aelita, are you all right? I'm sending Ulrich now, hang on." He turned to his friend. "Go now, you're heading to the mountain region to fight three hornets. Yumi and Odd will follow you as soon as they get here."

"All right," agreed Ulrich, turning to the elevator lift. He rushed into the scanner room as soon as he arrived, standing in his scanner as the doors slid shut and the booth lit up.

"Transfer, Ulrich," he could hear Jeremie's voice as the scanner started up. "Scanner, Ulrich." Feeling the breeze-like power surge around him, he felt his feet lift from the ground. "Virtualization!"

Before he knew it, he opened his eyes again to land from his drop, pushing himself up from the ground and gazing around at the mountain region that surrounded him in the virtual world they called Lyoko. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, narrowing his eyes as he searched.

"Ulrich!" he heard Aelita yell his name. She waved to him from a plateau as he noticed her. Running towards her, he noticed the three X.A.N.A controlled hornets flying straight ahead.

"Aelita, watch out!" he exclaimed as he jumped into the air, drawing his sword and slashing out at one of the monsters. After missing, he made a hard landing and looked back to see them flying around again, Aelita peeking out from behind a rock.

The virtual girl ran over to him once they were far enough away. "The tower is just behind that mountain to our right, but X.A.N.A is trying to trick us again. We'll see two towers when we arrive, both activated, but only one will actually accept the Lyoko code. If I deactivate the wrong tower, it may unlock more of my program to X.A.N.A."

"What are we going to do?" Ulrich asked frantically, his eyebrows furrowing together even in his virtual form.

"It's okay, I know which tower is real." Aelita said reassuringly.

"Good, then let's go." Ulrich said and led her around the mountain.

"Aelita," Jeremie's voice emitted from the sky. "The tower is straight ahead. Whoa, what is this? There are _two_ towers?"

"It's okay, Jeremie, I know which tower to enter. I was just in this region last night, and the tower on the right wasn't here then," explained Aelita, having to repeat herself.

"Good job, Aelita," Jeremie replied proudly. "You're really doing your homework. Maybe you could teach Ulrich a lesson or two."

"No time for jokes now," Ulrich commented as he raised his sword again. The hornets returned, buzzing even louder than before. One shot at Ulrich, hitting him in the arm.

"That's ten life points, Ulrich." Jeremie called. "Good news; your reinforcements have just arrived. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Yumi." Ulrich could hear him as his friends prepared to enter Lyoko. "Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Yumi. Virtualization!"

The hornets flew towards Aelita, starting to launch their lasers as they did. Ulrich managed to push her out of the way, tumbling to the ground himself as he got hit twice.

"It's time to face your burdens, Ulrich," a sarcastic voice chastised him as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, scowling at the pain in his arm.

"Shut up, Yumi," he growled under his breath as he saw the geisha warrior walk past him and launch her fan at a flying hornet, cutting it in half and making it explode.

"Come on, Ulrich! Same as always! Kick some X.A.N.A. butt, save the world, and you'll be back in no time!" Odd said to him in a cheerful tone as he ran past him, holding out his arm and yelling, "Laser arrow!" while a dart flew from his wrist and exploded another hornet.

"Great job so far you guys, but don't forget about that last hornet. Six more are on their way now," Jeremie's omniscient voice called again. Odd shot another arrow and easily defeated the last monster.

"So what's going on, Aelita?" Yumi asked her virtual friend. "Do I really see two towers over there?"

"Yes, but there's no need to worry; X.A.N.A. is using an old trick this time." Aelita replied with a smile. "The tower on the right is a duplicate. However, if I were to deactivate the wrong tower, my program would be open for X.A.N.A.'s infection."

"Don't worry yourself, Princess," commented Odd with a smirk as he approached the two. "We'll make sure you get to the real one."

They could hear a rumble that sounded as if it came from the sky. "Oh, no!" they heard Jeremie exclaim. "The wrecking ball has found the factory already! Hurry up, you guys. I'm not sure just how long this place can withstand a demolition!"

Ulrich jumped up from where he was, his pain finally subsiding as he noticed the new monsters arriving. "Hornets, 2 o'clock," he called to the others as he held his sword in a ready position. They began their attacks, the hornets appearing one after the other as the three fought while guarding Aelita at the same time.

While Ulrich sliced through a hornet, only his third for that trip, he noticed Odd holding his wrist out, launching arrow after arrow at the attacking monsters as he left his other arm open to cover Aelita, who had hid behind him.

"Ulrich, take Aelita to the tower." Jeremie ordered with another rumble behind his voice. "And be careful; you only have thirty life points left."

It was true, Ulrich had been taking the most hits out of the entire group. As his points diminished, he slashed another hornet in his way of Odd and Aelita, grabbing the virtual girl's hand and running with her away from the monsters.

"Ulrich! Ulrich!" Aelita yelled from behind him. "I can't run that fast!"

Ulrich slowed down from his supernatural speed, finally remembering how unique his powers were. "Sorry, Aelita. I must have forgot."

"It's all right. Look, we're almost there." Aelita pointed to the identical glowing towers.

Ulrich glanced back to the others, who still fought off the multiplying monsters. Looking back to the tower, he and Aelita raced on. "Aelita, are you sure you know which tower is the real one?"

"I'm positive," replied Aelita. "Oh, no!" she gasped. A Mega-tank rolled towards them from behind the tower. Skidding to a stop, the two both backed a few steps as it opened up.

"Stay back!" Ulrich pushed her behind him and tried to hold up his sword to defend himself. Taking another hit, he cried out as Aelita gasped again from behind him.

"Ten life points left, Ulrich." Jeremie announced through some static.

"Let's go, I can handle it," he cringed through his clenched teeth.

Moving forward, the Mega-tank rolled along with them. "Triplicate!" Ulrich yelled, his two forms appearing beside him. "Go," The two virtual beings rushed towards the tank at his command, but were easily picked off by the tank's blows as Ulrich led Aelita to the towers in the background. "Almost there!" He checked over his shoulder at the loading tank as they hurried on.

"Ulrich!" he could hear Odd and Yumi shout his name. He tried to turn his while he ran, but could only glimpse at them as they continued to attract and fight the hornets. "Ulrich! Ulrich!" they became more frantic.

Finally reaching the tower, he slid to a stop and turned around, holding his sword out. Finally, he could see the other two shouting at him.

"_Ulrich!_"

"What is it?" he yelled to them.

"That's the wrong tower!" the two seemed to be screaming at him in unison.

"What?" Ulrich cried as he dropped his guard and looked to his right, seeing Aelita enter the left tower (which was the actual tower), the Mega-tank's blow just missing her. _'I just led her to the wrong tower!' _his mind raced as he realized what he had done. His head jerked back to see another attack from the tank hit him in the chest, then fell back after receiving the hard blow. He could feel his landing, but then his vision went blank as he de-virtualized.

The scanner lit up again back in the factory, the entire building shaking from the wrecking ball's wrath. The doors slid open to reveal Ulrich sitting, slumped against the back wall with his elbow leaning on his knee and resting his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"_Damn it!_" he shouted, slamming his fist against the wall. He leaned his head back against the cold surface and closed his eyes as he saw a white glow appear around him and engulf the room.

* * *

Lots of Lyoko in that one, huh? Chapter four coming soon! Please leave a review- I'd love to hear what you think of it so far! : ) 


	4. Chapter IV

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 4

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Thank you for all of the reviews! : ) I just wanted to take a moment and respond to a couple regarding the swearing. For starters, get the fuck out (lol, this is a total joke, please don't take it serious, it's meant to be sarcastic-it's how we talk in Cleveland sometimes). Personally, I swear all the time in my everyday life, so it's been insanely difficult to keep it out of my fan fics for this series, especially since it's one in which it is very uncharacteristic for the kids to be vulgar. However, I chose to keep it in because I wanted to use it as a symbol of Ulrich's luck growing worse. As his day progresses and he seems like he's "falling further and further down a hole," he picks up the bad habit as a result of his depressed state. But I do completely agree with you, though. I could definitely picture Yumi reaming his ass if Ulrich ever talked like that on the show. :D (By the way, Author's Note's are officially un-rated now. > )

**WARNING:** This chapter could be considered the technical climax of the story. I didn't want to give it away, but I feel that it's necessary to give the readers a heads up. This chapter contains Ulrich's death, and it is just slightly graphic (meaning that it leaves you with an image of how it happens). Please, if you are uncomfortable with this subject but would still like to keep reading, e-mail me and I'll send you an alternate scene.

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When Ulrich opened his eyes again, he was sitting on Jeremie's bed watching the young boy type at his computer. The brunette quickly jumped up from his position and climbed up on the computer desk, pushing apart two of the closed blinds and peeking out of the window. First, he noticed there was no wrecking ball in sight, then he saw what he was really looking for. He watched as Yumi stormed away from the school yard, restarting on her way home. 

"Are you going to go after her?" Jeremie finally broke the silence as Ulrich sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"No…" the older boy replied quietly in his glum state and stood up. "I better get going…I have to go get something for my report." Without waiting for a response from Jeremie, he left.

He didn't bother stopping at his own room, checking the change in his pocket as he walked out of the dormitory and quickly dashed through the schoolyard. He and Odd had mastered the art of sneaking out over the course of the year, with Yumi's help by providing all the best exits, but on that night he was alone as he crept past the teachers on watch duty and the security cameras that he knew were always on in front of the entrance gate.

Once he was on the main road, he walked down the sidewalks as cars rushed by on the street through the dark night, speeding to reach their destinations. Ulrich found an open store, searching for a box of baking soda he needed for the volcano and paid for it with the last of the allowance his parents sent him for that week.

He declined a bag and held onto the box as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and trudged along the way back to the school, his eyes downcast and his shoulders slumped. He passed under the countless bright street lights as he followed the cement path home.

_'What has happened to me?' _he asked himself in his thoughts. _'I'm loosing grip on everything…soccer, school, my friendships, Yumi and me…Lyoko…' _he grew more and more downtrodden with each thought. _'I can't keep letting all these people down. My horrible luck is going to hurt someone else soon, not just me. I'm just so…so…so worthless!_

_'I mean why can't this just happen in shifts? One bad thing here, one there…but no, it has to hit me all at once. I just can't take this anymore. I can't deal with it…it's too much…_

'_I wish I was dead.'_

About a hundred feet from the intersection he knew he needed to cross at, Ulrich finally looked up and noticed the light for the street he was on was still green. "I'm not gonna wait for it…" he mumbled. Without looking, he stepped off the curb and passed between two parked cars and walked out into the street.

It was a cold night, the wind blowing in from the east and scattering the leaves down the sidewalks. Their tiny crinkling noises accompanied the natural sound of the moving cars and talking people near the buildings and stores on the street. The air was crisp and fresh, but soon all was interrupted by a loud honk and the skidding of tires.

The driver of the sleek, black car had noticed the green light and new it would change soon. Not wanting to wait for it once it turned red, he had sped up. He never noticed Ulrich until it was too late.

'_I wish I was dead…' _Ulrich's thoughts repeated as his attention snapped to the oncoming car, the lights blinding him and the horn drowning out his screams.

His mind had entered a dream-state as he could feel the impact of the car, and vision went black just before his body collided with the cement.

When he opened his eyes, Ulrich was surrounded in white. He knew he was standing, and he was still wearing his same clothes while feeling perfectly fine, but he couldn't see anything but a vast empty white color.

"Where am I?" he called. Putting his hand in his pocket, he noticed his cell phone was gone. He looked down, frantic, checking all of his pockets and finding nothing, not even the baking soda he had just bought. "What's going on?" he called out again, looking around as he walked forward. "Jeremie? Yumi? Odd?" he yelled. "Aelita?" He asked himself out loud, "Am I on Lyoko again? Or is this something of X.A.N.A.'s doing?"

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him and whirled around. An apparition had appeared; a ghost-like figure floating just above the ground covered in a pure white cloak, the hood pulled over a face that was only a black shadow. The figure was thin and about his height, with pale, petite hands that barely showed from the long sleeves. It's head was lowered, but the missing face raised to meet his stare.

"Ahh!" he yelled and jumped back. "Wh-who are you? Where am I?" he asked in fright as he shielded himself from the ghost.

"There's no need to be afraid, Ulrich," the spirit replied in a quiet voice. Ulrich knew he had heard that voice a million times before, but it was too low then for him to recognize. However, he knew it was a girl. "I won't hurt you," the voice continued.

_'Yumi? Aelita? Sissi?' _Ulrich asked himself in his thoughts. _'Mom? Mrs. Hertz? Milly? Tamiya? Emily? Dorothy? Who could that voice possibly _be_…'_

"Don't worry about who I am now," the voice replied and Ulrich's eyes widened at her telepathic abilities. "You do not know now, anyway."

"Then tell me." Ulrich demanded through his fear. "Tell me who you are, and where I am."

The vision continued to stare at him with her response. "I am the Angel of Death. You have received what you wished for, Ulrich. Now I must deliver it to you."

"What I wished for?" Ulrich asked in reply. "What are you talking about?"

The apparition waved her hand to the side and Ulrich suddenly heard a new, very familiar voice.

_"I wish I was dead." _

The echo of his own voice sent shivers down his spine. "Oh…" he said and tried to regain his breath as his fear was driving it away.

"Ulrich, you have decided not to live. You have forfeited your own life and have been granted your request."

"What?" Ulrich suddenly looked at her, his thoughts quickly computing in his mind.

"Ulrich Stern, you are dead."

The brunette boy could feel his legs weaken. He looked down to the whiteness he stood on and held back the urge to throw up. "If I'm dead…" he choked out the words. "Then why do I still feel human."

"You are still a spirit now," the ghost replied. "You have not yet entered Heaven or Hell. This is your Purgatory. I am to show you what will happen as a result of your decision, and then you will receive your judgement."

"You mean I get to see life…without me?" Ulrich asked.

The apparition nodded. "You will be able to see what happens now to the people around you after your death. You will follow their lives, see what they do, watch and see if they remember that handsome brunette boy who was the star soccer player, or the quick swordsman who always fought bravely on Lyoko."

Ulrich's attention snapped to her at the mention of the virtual world. "What do you know about Lyoko?" he asked impulsively.

The ghost made a sound almost like a snicker. "There's no need to worry, Ulrich. You are forgetting that you're dead now."

Ulrich didn't know how to respond. "Oh," was all he could manage, everything still processing in his mind. "Well, then show me what happens. I want to see everyone after my death. I want to see how with my horrid luck gone that they can actually live…"

The ghost slightly tilted her head, confused by his answer. "I cannot read your thoughts to understand your judgement, but I can sense a change in the future."

Ulrich didn't understand her prophetic response. The ghost took his hand, yet he felt nothing as he followed her while she floated along through the white. "Do you have a name?" he asked.

The ghost turned her head to him. "I am called Death now."

Ulrich snickered himself. "You don't look like the Grim Reaper to me."

"Death is viewed on Earth as a frightening, disastrous occurrence, and yet humans forget to realize that is in inevitable. Not all unavoidable things are ominous. I am here as an angel to disregard the symbol of the evil thought of in it."

Her words made Ulrich think as she waved her hand again, that time in front of them, and a vision appeared. "I have to start from the beginning."

"The beginning of my life?" asked Ulrich.

"No," she answered and looked back to the floating image as she continued, "the beginning of your end."

Ulrich looked up to the moving pictures of the waiting room in a hospital and watched as the setting took over the white surrounding them, placing the two in the hallway of the medical building. The place looked real, but when he glanced down at his hands and saw how the white aura around his skin, he knew no one on Earth would be able to see him.

He first noticed the people around him. The principal of his school paced back and forth, while Jeremie was sitting on a chair and stared at the ground, his face red with a blank look. Odd stood and walked around, also, his painful discomfort obvious to all. Yumi sat on a chair and cried into her hands, her parents sitting on both sides of her trying to comfort her while handing her tissues. Jim and Dorothy stood near the wall by Jeremie's chair. Jim had folded his arms and stood solemnly while Dorothy was holding a copy of all of Ulrich's health records the school had on file, having already given the originals to the hospital when she arrived with the principal, Jim, and the two boys.

The principal had made his way over to Jim when the Phys. ed. teacher spoke up. "Sissi didn't come with us?" he asked quietly.

"No…" the principal answered through his troubled voice. "The doctor wasn't very optimistic when he called. I know she wouldn't be able to handle this." Jim could only nod a reply.

Odd had walked over to Yumi and knelt in front of the girl. "Yumi, don't cry," he told her through his own building tears. "He's gonna be okay, don't worry."

"Oh, Odd…" Yumi cried, releasing her hands from her red, tear-stained face. Her mother rubbed gently rubbed her back as her dad thanked Odd for his encouragement.

"Yumi, your friend will be okay soon," her father reinforced the boy's words.

"See? Your dad agrees with me." Odd tried to make her smile.

On the other side of the room, Jim noticed how Jeremie's face was beginning to loose all of its color. "Jeremie? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Wh-What are we going to do…" the young blonde stumbled through his wavering voice as he continued to stare at the floor. "What happens now?"

"Jeremie, everything is going to be okay," Dorothy moved to sit next to him and held his cold hand. "The doctor will be out shortly to tell us how Ulrich is doing, then you can go in and see him."

"I don't like how this is going…" Ulrich muttered as he watched the scene.

Just as the Kadic school nurse had finished her sentence in the image, the doors open and a tall man in a white doctor's coat appeared carrying a clipboard. "Are you all here for Ulrich Stern?" he asked.

"Yes," the principal answered for them all.

"Okay, I need to speak with a guardian."

The principal stepped forward and conversed with the doctor. When he had finished explaining, he stepped aside for the administrator to return to the group. The principal's eyes were wide and his faced had lost color, sudden shock and disbelief overcoming his features. "I'm sorry," he managed to say through a forced voice. "He's gone."

Yumi was the first to cry out. "NOO!" she screamed and began to sob hysterically. Her parents gasped at her reaction and held on to her as she leaned forward in the chair.

"Yumi…" Odd didn't know what to say as he was standing by her. His own tears started to fall as he began crying, too. Jim walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Odd looked up to see water in his eyes as well.

Jeremie had began crying after the announcement, Dorothy hugging him and quietly tried to shush him in a sympathetic voice as she tried to hold back her own tears.

The doctor stepped forward again. "And his parents?" he asked the principal.

"They're on their way," with a choked in his voice, the principal responded.

The entire room was filled with upset. Ulrich couldn't believe the wretched sobs he heard from Yumi. She cried and wailed as her parents tried to ease her, even attracting the attention of other nurses to the room. Ulrich had never heard anything so painful before.

"Death, is she okay?" he asked the ghost standing next to him.

"She is hurt by your passing." Death answered. "They all are."

"What about my parents?"

"Once the hospital had received and identified you, they contacted the principal first. He called your parents immediately before gathering the others. Your mother and father dropped everything and flew in to see you, but they were still too late," explained Death.

Ulrich watched as the scene went on. A nurse appeared from behind the doors with a handful of items, including the baking soda. The principal accepted them, and Jeremie, Odd, and Yumi lost any composure they had left when they noticed their friend's cell phone.

"They'll see…" Ulrich told himself, although he felt mixed deep down inside as he watched the despairing scene. "They'll benefit from this eventually." He turned to Death. "What happens next?"

"Why, your funeral, of course."

"My funeral?" Ulrich exclaimed. "I don't want to see that!"

"This was your wish, Ulrich Stern," Death said as she waved her hand again. "I am just a messenger."

Ulrich's attention lingered on Yumi as the image faded. She hadn't yet stopped bawling, not even calming from her hysterical state. He had never seen her cry before, and her pain then was overwhelming. "I'm sorry, Yumi," he said softly under his breath before the sight was gone, then leaving him to wait for the next to appear.

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Thank you again for reading. Chapter five coming soon…I hope everyone has a great vacation!!! :D And please, drop a review if you would like to. I truly appreciate all of the input you guys have given me, and I welcome and hope to see more of it for future chapters! : ) 


	5. Chapter V

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 5

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Aw, I love your reviews so much! : ) You're all so encouraging. Thank you!

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The mournful crowd all stood around the gravesite, Ulrich's coffin waiting to be lowered into the deep hole. The audience included his family, his closest friends, the whole Kadic faculty, save a few teachers left behind for watch duty, and nearly his entire grade, along with a handful of other students a year or two older and younger than him who had known him well. A priest recited the usual prayers in French as everyone took one last look, Ulrich included.

"I told you, I don't want to see this, Death!" he exclaimed and waved his arms. "This is sick!"

"I must show you, Ulrich. It is a part of your journey." Death replied.

"Well, can we skip this part? Is there a detour anywhere?" Death put a finger in front of where her mouth would have been to silence him. He looked back to the funeral with furrowed eyebrows and folded his arms.

His features softened when he saw the five figures in front of the crowd and closest to his coffin. His mother and father were first, holding each other tightly. His mother cried gently. "Oh, my baby boy…" she mumbled through her tears and buried her face into her husband's suit coat. "My sweet baby boy." His father simply gazed at the coffin with an aggrieved expression and a glisten to his eye.

His best friends stood next to them. Jeremie and Odd held Yumi's hands, and all three tried to keep their composure throughout the funeral. Ulrich could see the pain in their features, and wanted to call out to them, to be with them all again. Looking around through the crowd, he noticed many familiar faces that all were filled with the same sorrow. He noticed Sissi a ways through the faculty group. His usual annoyance was then crying into her father's jacket as he gently patted her back and tried to quiet her. "No. This is for the best," Ulrich said.

"Whatever you say." Death replied and waved her hand again. The image jumped to the same place, but about a year later. Ulrich's coffin had been buried and a tombstone erected in place. The grass had already grown in, and a tall, dark-haired girl was sitting near the headstone. She had just placed a handful on flowers on the other side, and sat gazing at the inscription.

"Yumi…" Ulrich said in wonder and smiled at the sight of her visiting his grave.

"Ulrich…" Yumi spoke softly as she stared blankly at the stone. "I miss you."

"No, Yumi, you don't." Ulrich replied as he watched her. "This will help you, I swear."

"Ulrich….I lov-"

Death waved her hand again and quickly changed the image.

"Hey!" Ulrich exclaimed. "What did you do that for?"

"You didn't want to see your funeral."

"That was past my funeral, though." Ulrich defended himself.

Death made a sound as if she was sighing. "Ulrich, there are many images you must see, and many of them you will not like. I must show you the disheartening along with the pleasing."

"The…disheartening?" Ulrich asked.

Death nodded. "Your untimely death had many negative repercussions."

"Like what?" Ulrich asked.

With a repeated wave of her hand, Death made another image appear. They then stood in the factory, facing the Super Calculator with Jeremie sitting in his usual seat, yelling into his headset.

"See? They got along without me." Ulrich said, but stopped and gasped as they began to hear what was going on.

"Odd! Yumi! Aelita needs you! She only has fifteen life points left! Get over there and help her NOW!" Jeremie ordered frantically as he typed with speed and switched between several windows on the screen. "Oh, God…" he seemed to be panicking. "Please, no…not now."

"Jeremie?" Ulrich called his friend's name as he walked forward, reading everything on the screen. He noticed that his friends were loosing on Lyoko.

Jeremie grabbed the mouthpiece of his headset again as he spoke. "Forget it. Just get Aelita into that tower."

"Jeremie, we're too far. I'm out of arrows, Yumi can't use just one fan on all these monsters, and Aelita has created nine forts for us so far, all destroyed in under three hits. We're stuck!" Odd's voice replied.

"No!" Jeremie screamed back. "This is not the end! I haven't found the anti-virus for Aelita's program yet!"

"Jeremie, I just had a vision…" said Odd. "This is it. We can't do it without the team."

Ulrich watched the image of his friends on Lyoko from the Super Calculator's screen. They fought as hard as they could, but were both de-virtualized. Jeremie tore off his headset and threw it down in distress. "I can't believe this…" he continued panicking. "I'm not going to believe this…"

"Jeremie!" Aelita appeared on the screen. "Jeremie, I'm so sorry this is the end."

"Aelita, no!"

The virtual girl seemed as if she was crying. Ulrich never know that was even possible on Lyoko. "Jeremie, thank you for everything you have given me."

"No, Aelita, don't give up. We can get through this," Jeremie pleaded through his choked-up voice.

"Please, you must shut Lyoko down. X.A.N.A. will take over Earth now that we have failed. You can't let all those people die."

"Aelita…."

"Jeremie, please promise me."

"I….I…promise."

"I love you, Jeremie."

"Aelita, I love you, and I will never, ever forget you. Please, don't leave me."

A round of shots from monsters were heard and Ulrich watched Aelita's last words before she was hit. "Good-bye." She blew a kiss and waved.

"AELITA!" Jeremie shouted and began to cry as her card appeared on the screen and faded away.

Ulrich panicked as well at what he watched. "Death, do something! X.A.N.A.'s going to destroy Earth!" He looked around, but didn't see the apparition anywhere. "Death?"

The rest of the scene caught his attention again. The elevator appeared and opened up, Yumi and Odd hurrying out. Yumi ran straight to Jeremie.

"Jeremie!" she exclaimed when she saw his tears. She immediately crushed him in a hug and tried to hush his sobs. "Jeremie, listen to me," she said when she pulled him away. "We have to unplug X.A.N.A."

"No." Jeremie said through his tears as he shook his head.

"Jeremie, you know this is what she would have wanted," Odd added, nursing his arm as he sat near by to catch his breath. His own eyes were filled with tears after saying good-bye to Aelita before being de-virtualized.

"We have to," Yumi held Jeremie's tear-stained face in her hands and looked him straight in the eye. "No matter what it takes." The young blonde tried to reply, but his voice wouldn't work. "Show us how to deactivate Lyoko, Jeremie."

Odd walked over. "We can still save Earth."

Jeremie finally found the strength to move, and Yumi helped him down from the chair. Ulrich watched until they reached the room where X.A.N.A.'s core hard drive was, the entire program surging with energy as it reaped havoc on Earth. The image faded back to white just as Jeremie was about to pull the switch.

"Death?" Ulrich called after the image was gone. The apparition appeared again. "Where did you go?"

"I didn't leave you," she replied. "I'm always here with you now."

"Death, did they stop X.A.N.A.?"

The spirit paused before answering. "Yes. But at great costs…"

Ulrich started to worry. "Please, tell me what happened."

"X.A.N.A. began by attacking the town three days after your funeral," Death explained. "It was a simple electricity jam like he usually used to disrupt the human life that depends on it so greatly. But that time, he knew the team was short. He could sense your death, and moved in quickly.

"Jeremie sent Odd and Yumi to the desert region to help Aelita, and although he anticipated a harder task without your help, he never guessed that he would be saying good-bye to his virtual friend that day.

"After they had all lost their life points, X.A.N.A. took over on Earth briefly. Three deaths are still unexplained as of today." Death seemed to pause before continuing. "In the end, after over a year of his work for Aelita and Lyoko, Jeremie had everything shut down and destroyed in under an hour."

The image reappeared and had jumped to later that day when all three sat in the room with the Super Calculator again, Jeremie crying uncontrollably as Yumi hugged him and cried herself. Odd grieved as well as he laid a hand on Jeremie's shoulder to try and calm him down.

"Loosing two friends whom they loved so dearly was devastating for them." Death said, breaking Ulrich's gaze at his friends.

"It's…it's…." he fumbled through his words as he fought back his own tears. "It's for their own good…."

"You still believe so?" Death asked.

"Yes." Ulrich choked out as his tears began to fall. He hung his head as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold his emotion in.

"Try to calm yourself, Ulrich Stern," Death said as she waved her hand again. "You will not like what is coming next."

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A little more involving Lyoko in this chapter, but in a definite new light. Chapter six should be up within a day or so, but until then please review! :D 


	6. Chapter VI

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 6

By: Leelei

Author's Note: You guys seriously leave some awesome reviews, but after this chapter you might want to hang me. There's actually one more pairing in this story that I never mentioned because I was being stubborn about giving away anything that might spill the unfolding story line early. It's nothing Earth-shattering, but please work with it even if you're totally against it. Yes, I know I'm just mentioning it now without telling you, and that's pretty annoying, so I'll shut up and let you read. : D Thanks for your cooperation, and please review!

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Ulrich regained his composure as he looked up to see the next image, sniffing in hard to keep his nose from running and biting his lip to stop it from quivering. But the next image left him in shock, and soon he gasped, wide-eyed at what he saw.

He and Death stood in a schoolyard similar to Kadic's, but what Ulrich recognized as actually the local high-class boarding school that most of the students from his school usually attended following their graduation. The brunette boy gazed around the area, noticing several faces that he knew, but had grown up and changed since he had last seen them.

"Death, are we in the future?" he asked and turned to the apparition.

Death nodded her head. "This would have been your senior year in high school."

Ulrich skimmed all of the students standing around and talking, playing football, or sitting under shade and on benches, finishing their homework. He finally noticed someone he knew. "Nicholas?" he asked out loud in an amazed tone.

The tall blonde-haired teen walked by him, holding a set of car keys in one hand and his other laced together with the slender fingers of a pretty girl who looked about his age. She was a head shorter than him, thin and petite with lightly curled hair and a sweet smile. Ulrich couldn't remember her, and realized that the two must have met in high school.

"Death…is that really him?" The apparition nodded to confirm his question. "Wow, he's changed so much," Ulrich snickered. "And he doesn't look as shaggy without that long, greasy hair."

He was about to ask where Sissi and Herb were, but his attention quickly left them once he saw another couple enter the image. Immediately, he recognized the two and time seemed to stop for him as he couldn't believe the picture he was seeing. "Oh my god…" he mumbled as he stared blankly, his eyes set on them.

The boy was just under the teenaged Nicholas' height and shared his age, but had wild blonde hair that stood up in large, clumped spikes with dark blue streaks on each one. He wore a thick, pyramid studded black belt and chains with his long, baggy jeans that had large pockets on the legs and a slight flare to the legs around his old, worn Converse sneakers. He had on a dark blue zip-up hooded sweater left open, with long white stripes down the sleeves, zipped halfway over the black undershirt he was wearing. His ears were gauged with large disks, and around his neck were a few loose necklaces, one comprising of several large dark metal balls all linked together, another that looked like a small chain, and the third looked like mock barbed wire. To top off the entire image, the boy wore thick black eyeliner under each eye.

"Odd…" Ulrich said in utter amazement as he watched his friend as a teenager. A smile grew on the young boy's shocked face. "I can't believe it. Look how _he's_ changed! His style is so cool."

Then Ulrich saw the girl that Odd was with. "Yumi…" he said breathlessly, admiring her change as well.

Yumi was nineteen, and was nearly as tall as Odd had grown. She had let her dark hair grow out a little, tying half of it up similar to how it was on Lyoko. Still dressing in head-to-toe black, her top was in a sheer material with a dark underlayer that had a low, square cut above her chest and long bell-sleeves. She wore a skirt, which Ulrich found surprising, but was suited to her taste, reaching just above her knees with a jagged hem cut in long angles. She wore black fishnet stockings and low platform boots that reached her mid-calf with several buckles. Ulrich noticed she wore a couple rings and had hear ears pierced twice with black studs in all four holes. She wore light make-up; just enough to be seen and to enhance her light skin and slanted, almond eyes, but not to overwhelm her features.

"She's beautiful," Ulrich muttered in awe as he gazed at her. "_Perfectly_ beautiful."

Then Ulrich was completely taken back when he saw the image continue. Odd moved closer to Yumi, putting his hands on her hips and leaning in to brush his lips against hers. Yumi had placed her hands on his arms in return, and the two closed their eyes as their lips met.

Ulrich felt his heart plummet to his stomach, and at the same time his insides seemed as if they were twisting upside-down. "What in the _HELL?!"_ he yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice shrieking through the air, but heard by none in the image. He turned to Death in a rage. "What in god's name did I just see?" he continued to shout angrily. "Huh, Death? What the hell was that?"

Death watched the couple as she responded. "It is as what you see it to be, Ulrich. I cannot lie and tell you otherwise."

Ulrich looked back to his two friends, having broken their kiss but still held each other. Odd was smiling and saying something Ulrich couldn't hear, and Yumi laughed. They parted completely and Odd took a hold of Yumi's hand.

Feeling his blood boil, Ulrich clenched his teeth. "I die, and my best friend takes my girlfriend." He turned to the ghost again. "So did he want her all along? When I was alive and we were all together?"

Death turned to him and tilted her head slightly. "Do you mean, did he love her from the beginning?"

"Yes!"

Death returned her invisible eyes to them. "No, they were never in love when you were alive. Only best friends, as you four all were."

Ulrich noticed a group of teenaged guys appear, all about Odd's age and sharing his same style. They called and hooted to the couple, Odd smiling and calling back as they approached, but Yumi seemed to have to force a smile herself. Odd seemed to forget her as he let go of her hand to cup his own around his mouth, raising his shouts and loud swearing to them, disrupting the entire schoolyard with his loud behavior.

One of the guys from the group lunged forward at Odd, making a grab at his hair, but Odd caught him and pushed back hard on his chest, causing the guy to loose his balance and nearly fall backwards. They laughed at the moronic stunt, Odd jumping around and making loud cheers at his victory block. At one point, he pulled his jacket half-way off, and Ulrich could vaguely see a mark on his arm.

It was a tattoo, with dark Japanese characters inked into his skin and a black rose underneath. Ulrich recognized immediately that he knew the characters spelled Yumi's name.

He gasped in deeply at the unexpected sight. "He read my diary!" the brunette raged out loud, causing Death to look his way. "I can't believe this! He waits until I die, takes my girlfriend, reads my diary, and gets the tattoo that_ I _designed!" he continued shouting. "That _bastard!"_

"I see…" Death mused. "You had drawn the tattoo in your diary, and planned to get it when you were older, correct?"

"Exactly." Ulrich said, still in his angered tone as he watched the image continue with narrowed eyes.

Odd had put his jacket back on and stopped jumping around and interrupting the others when Yumi yelled at him to quit. She stood with her arms folded and waited as he conversed with his friends.

"Hey man, let's go drive around," one from the group said.

"Odd," Yumi cut in and walked up to her boyfriend. "Aren't we going out there today to visit him?"

"Uh…" Odd said, sounding caught in a jam. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry Yumi, but I got detention for later today."

"You did?" Yumi asked. "When?"

"I was late to my history class again. I'm sorry, I can't go with you this time," replied Odd.

"Oh…" Yumi trailed off, looking away.

Odd took her hand again and looked to his friends. "I'll see ya later." The group groaned as they heard his excuse, but cat-called at the couple as the walked away.

When one of the guys made a sound imitating a cracking whip, Odd looked back to them with a laugh, "Kiss my ass!" he yelled and raised the middle finger of his vacant hand to the group.

"Odd!" Yumi chastised him, yelling his name in disgust.

"Fuck off!" he shouted again to them and continued laughing, ignoring her plea.

"What is going on?" Ulrich asked. "Why is Odd acting like that? He was never that out of line, or that _crude!_ And why is he ignoring Yumi like that? I thought he was supposed to care about her."

"I told you that you would not like what you are seeing," said Death.

"And you're damn right I don't like it!" Ulrich relaxed his features, his tightened brow hurting from his perplexed state. He heaved a frustrated sigh. "I-…it's just that I thought she loved me..."

"She does love you, Ulrich," replied Death. "But she and Odd were left alone to support each other through the years and eventually learned to fall in love."

"What do you mean left alone?" Ulrich asked, turning to the apparition. "What about Jeremie?"

Death didn't respond.

"Death, where is Jeremie?"

The ghost still didn't answer, but her sorrowful sigh was enough of a reply for Ulrich as she waved her hand and changed the image for him to learn her reason for silence.

* * *

Wow, I have no idea what the schooling is like in France, so I pasted a little bit of America in there. Yes, it's an OxY pairing, I know it isn't very common, but it's actually the structure for pretty much the rest of the story. But I'll let you know that this is far from the last chapter, and there are definitely more twists in the future. Well, I hope everyone isn't too pissed right now! :D Chapter 7 will be posted very soon. See you then! : ) 


	7. Chapter VII

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 7

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Lol, here ya go, Indome. It's not finished yet, but a step closer. : ) I hope you guys don't hate this chapter. It's one of my favorites along with the previous one because there's so much change in the characters versus the very beginning of the story. I just wanted to let you know that, yes, it is Jeremie's turn this time, but this is also a chapter that I used the PG-13 rating for. Nothing real serious, but please, I don't want any complaints. Thanks again, and please drop a review on the way out.

* * *

The image reappeared and Death and Ulrich stood in a dark room. It was a decent sized dorm, with plain walls, an empty desk and chair, and a tall cabinet on a lone wall with a few drawers built into it. On the bed pushed up against one of the walls, a blonde teenager laid with his back facing them, staring blankly at the peeling paint of the cold surface in front of him.

"Jeremie….?" Ulrich inquired out loud quietly, his brow furrowing as he tried to understand the scene. Death floated next to him, but remained silent.

There soon was a gentle knock on the door and the teen showed no response. A minute or so passed before the visitor opened the door slowly and entered. "Jeremie?" she asked. It was Yumi, having just arrived after driving from the school and her encounter with Odd and his friends. "Jeremie, it's me. Yumi."

"…Yumi…" the blonde replied distantly, turning on his side to face her. Ulrich then recognized him. It was Jeremie, but he was about seventeen years old then. He looked almost the same as he did when he was younger, save his glasses were a size bigger to fit him after his growth spurt, and his hair was slightly shorter than before. He sat up on the bed, swinging his bare feet down to reach the floor. Ulrich noticed that he still wasn't very tall. Although it was late in the afternoon, he still seemed to be wearing dark colored pajamas, like he had no intention of leaving the room. Overall, he looked thin and pale, and was missing that clever glint in his eye that he had always possessed as a boy.

Yumi moved to crouch down in front of him. "How are you?" she asked softly.

Jeremie didn't answer, just stared at the floor without raising his eyes to meet her. "I miss her…" he replied quietly.

"Jeremie, I know. We all do." Yumi felt hurt at his response; the same that he gave her every time she visited him.

"Where is Odd," said Jeremie, stating his question more than asking.

"He had detention today, so I left without him to make it here in time for the visitation hours. I'll make sure he comes next time, okay?"

No reply, or even a look from him. Jeremie then pulled himself back onto the bed and returned to his lonely position. Yumi stood as her brow creased, troubled by his depressed state. "Jeremie, would you like to go for a walk?" No response. She then sat down on the edge of his bed, a few inches from his feet. "Or maybe a ride? I showed you a picture of my new car, remember? You said it was nice." He still remained silent. "Let's go for a drive, maybe get some ice cream…?"

His silence frustrated Yumi, as it always did over the years, but she only showed it through sorrow. Her eyes filled with tears, but she kept her voice even. "Is there anything you need, Jeremie? Please, speak to me."

Jeremie turned on his side again so she could see his face, but then returned his stare to the floor. "I don't need anything," he finally responded flatly.

"Okay." Yumi said, realizing how quiet her voice had become. The water in her eyes was growing harder to keep held in. A tear streaked down her face as she reached over and brushed a piece of Jeremie's bangs out of his eyes. "I love you, Jeremie," she told him. "You're my best friend, and please don't ever forget that."

She stood and pulled her keys from her skirt pocket as she wiped the moisture from her face. The nurses had suggested she leave when he started refusing things, telling her that he would only grow impatient and irritable if she offered too much. Always, though, she ended her visit by reminding the teen how much she still cared about him, knowing the encouragement would help him hold on.

"When would you like us to visit you next?" she asked.

"Whenever." Jeremie mumbled without looking up at her.

"Okay…" Yumi said again, not wanting to push him any further. "I'll see you later, Jeremie. Try and get some sleep tonight, please," she suggested, having learned of his new case of insomnia from the doctor when she had checked in. Jeremie didn't reply, but she waited a few moments hoping he would. After a long silence, she finally broke it when moving to the door. "Good-bye, Jeremie," she called to him sorrowfully before closing it, taking one last look at her pitiful friend before leaving. The image faded back to complete white as Yumi walked slowly down the hall, passing all the other dorm room doors as she searched through her key chains on the ring for the key to her car.

"Death, I don't understand." Ulrich said with a confused look. He turned to the apparition for an answer. "What happened to him? Is he okay?"

Death seemed to sigh again. "Jeremie's story is a difficult one, Ulrich. But I must tell it to you, however. This was your wish.

"You now know that after your death Odd and Yumi didn't have enough strength between them to protect Aelita against X.A.N.A.'s worsening attacks. Jeremie did everything he could –absolutely everything- but it just wasn't enough to save her. As loosing Aelita became one of the hardest moments of his life to live through, the event slowly overtook his mind, the loss driving him to near insanity.

"His depression started out as the disorder usually did, with him sobbing at random times and missing more and more classes. The principal noticed his change in behavior immediately and had him attend sessions with the school psychologist, as he had asked Yumi and Odd to do as well. He knew the death of a close friend was disastrous, especially for friends so close and at such a young age, but he thought highly of the psychologist he had hired and wanted Jeremie to return to his normal life as soon as possible. He himself had sent Sissi to the new counselor everyday for three weeks after your funeral, and once a week following that for nearly two months.

"But Jeremie was never truly helped. After months of the treatment, day in and day out, and weeks after Odd had dropped out of the sessions, he still showed no signs of improvement. The psychologist turned to Yumi and Odd for help with for a solution, but the only answer they gave was a link back to your untimely death, the two still remaining loyal to keeping Lyoko and Aelita a secret.

"During all the time that had passed, Jeremie's grades went from straight A's to all F's with many zeroes in place of where his work should have been. He refused to attend class, and never completed a page of homework or took another test again. He spent most of his time on his computer, trying to make a connection back to Lyoko until Yumi and Odd found out what he was doing and were forced to remind him that Aelita was gone forever. After that, he was lost himself, sleeping more than usual and remaining in his room.

"The principal was growing worried about his behavior and how it was affecting life at the school. The other students all whispered and started rumors about him, and when Jeremie did come out of his dorm room, he was plagued with questions from the innocent, curious kids.

"Jeremie never answered, or even talked, to them. He soon started to snap at the other students, growing angry at their constant presence. His actions grew worse, and he became threatening and violent. The principal immediately removed him from the school, and had him quarantined in his room for a short time before his parents were notified.

"Not knowing what else he could do, the principal quietly expelled Jeremie and sent him back to his family. It was hard for Yumi and Odd to say good-bye to him, but by then Jeremie wasn't the same person that they had known before.

"Once he returned to his parents' home, they tried to welcome him warmly. Numb to what he had experienced, they immediately went on with life as nothing had happened to him. The sudden change had major affects on his personality, and he shortly grew hard to handle there, too."

"What could he do to them, though?" Ulrich asked. "He would've only been twelve at the time."

Death continued, "He kicked and screamed and swore loudly at them whenever they tried to help him, or scolded him for what they referred to as 'moaping around.' It wasn't long before one dinner together secured the decision for them to send him back to Kadic."

"What happened?" inquired Ulrich, sounding worried.

"He hit his mother and stabbed his father in the arm with a fork," Death answered, rather evenly for such a shocking statement. "They had at first asked him to be more cheerful around the house and to help a little more with the chores, but then became more demanding when he refused. Soon, he was yelling and cursing them, and during his rage was when he became violent."

Ulrich felt hurt at the depressing story of his friend, the tears building slowly in his eyes again. "So they sent him back?"

Death nodded. "The principal was upset that they had given up on their responsibility as parents, but welcomed Jeremie back for a short time. It wasn't long before he had found an opening at St. Genevieve's Home for Physically Challenged and Mentally Disturbed Boys, his parents immediately giving consent and the psychologist giving a quick diagnosis for his entrance. The boarding home was located just outside of Paris, and Yumi and Odd visited him regularly for years, the Kadic principal and also their high school principal even excusing them from class and providing transportation for them until Yumi was able to drive at age eighteen.

"The doctors and nurses at the home were impressed by the intelligence Jeremie showed the psychiatrists when he first arrived, but he rarely talked to anyone afterwards, only mumbling responses when needed and the occasional times when a nurse would overhear him talking to himself about a place called Lyoko, or a girl named Aelita.

"He never could let go, Ulrich," Death finished her explanation distantly, gazing away from the brunette. "He never, ever forgot her."

Ulrich knew he was crying again, the story burning a scar onto his soul. "If I would have been there…I could've helped save her…" he mumbled to himself.

"Yes, you would have," Death replied, the first thing she had told him that was a direct fact of what would have happened had he lived.

"I-I…I don't think so," Ulrich denied himself through a quivering voice. "My death couldn't have affected that many people."

"That many?" Death's questioning tone made Ulrich look to her as she continued speaking. "Ulrich, your death affected far more people than just your friends."

"More?"

"Yes, Ulrich, more."

* * *

Hey, I got a little bit of France in there that time! : ) St. Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris, and you can't get your license out there until you're eighteen years old (so I guess I should quit grumbling that I haven't gotten mine yet and be happy that I don't _have_ to wait two more years). Chapter 8 coming soon…I hope. Until then, au revoir! 


	8. Chapter VIII

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 8

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Well, I busted my ass to get it written, so I'm posting it. This is another chapter that I liked, so I hope you like it, too. It's very relieving to know that you guys are being so supportive of how different this story is. I'm glad to see how open-minded people truly are in this fandom! I love reading all your reviews, but I bite my tongue when it comes to all of your predictions. All I can say is that you'll be satisfied, don't worry. ;D Thanks again, and please leave a review. **Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a happy and blessed holiday! : )**

* * *

"So this is Sissi, age eighteen." Ulrich said absently as he gazed in disbelief. He and Death stood in a small apartment, cramped with some furniture in its tiny living room, and barren looking in the cold, tiled kitchen with only a stove and a fridge, the counters covered in piling dirty dishes. 

Sissi Delmas sat at the small table in the middle of the kitchen, knocking the ashes off her cigarette as she gazed at the full ashtray. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, Ulrich couldn't deny it, with her long, black hair and clear complexion. She seemed tall, even though she was sitting, and dressed in stylish, popular clothes for the time. Overall, she was still thin, but Ulrich quickly noticed that she was heavily pregnant.

He gasped when he realized the bulge in her belly, her slender, vacant hand resting on top of it as she continued to stare. "Oh my god…" Ulrich mumbled. "She's…she's…."

"Expecting." Death finished for him.

"Death, what the hell happened?" Ulrich glanced to her, but quickly his attention jerked back to Sissi, doubting what he had seen. "This isn't a high school dorm…where are Herb and Nicholas? And how…" the questions all flooded out of him, but he had a hard time managing to ask the one that was beating at him. "And how….did she become _pregnant?"_

"You would like to know this story as well?" Death asked.

"Yes. Please, tell me." Ulrich pleaded, feeling the tears stains on his cheeks as he stood in utter disbelief.

"Sissi always remained popular and catty over the years, there was no changing her personality," Death began. "But after your death, she decided to dump her two normal best friends and move on to more trendy, popular friends that shared her style and attitude. Without that handsome brunette boy for her to chase around all those years, she found time for a more dangerous crowd.

"Nicholas and Herb were hurt by her rude departure from them, but as you saw before, one of them had no problems in high school finding a group of friends that treated him better, let alone a girlfriend who loved him for who he was. Herb, on the other hand, continued through high school conversing occasionally with Sissi whenever her new friends weren't around, mostly remaining silent and secluded. He graduated a year early and accepted the first job offer he was given to study abroad for a medical company that needed scientific research. Immediately following his finals, he went into the high-paying field of nanotechnology; the same job that Jeremie would have been offered had he finished school with his same grades from when he was younger.

"Sissi delved into her new life as a popular teen goddess. Every boy seemed to want her, and every girl wanted to be her. She dressed in all the top brands, in sizes too small so she always looked thin, and always nearing the borderline of what others referred to as 'slutty.' But she never cared, as long as the boys still followed her and there was another party for her to be invited to. Her father hated her new lifestyle, but it was growing harder to hold on to her as she became older and more dependent.

"She went through boyfriend after boyfriend; mainly choosing only the boys that looked the best and offered her more sex, alcohol, and drugs than the others. She picked up smoking at an early age –since all her friends did it- and refused to quit even after her father had caught her. It was no surprise to the other girls in her grade when they learned that she was pregnant, laughing and mocking her as they had predicted the fall of the teen queen.

"Her boyfriend at the time had convinced her to move out during her senior year, getting an apartment with him shortly before she conceived his child. He worked hard to support her while still trying to finish school, especially after she became pregnant, but his partying lifestyle always seemed to get in the way."

"So why is she still smoking?" Ulrich asked, still watching her. He moved his vision to scan the rest of the kitchen. "Why are there beer bottles and cigarette boxes all over the place? Shouldn't she be trying to change now, after all of this? For her baby?"

"Why would she quit smoking, Ulrich?" Death looked at him with a tone as if she had expected him to understand the image. "She isn't going to keep that child."

"No?" Ulrich's attention snapped to the apparition. "Why not?"

"It would interfere to much with her life." Death answered. "Think of it- she's beautiful and still young. Why would she want anything tying her down when so many offers for pleasure and fun are given to her at every corner?"

"What about her father? I'm sure he won't let her do that." Ulrich replied.

"Her father disowned her as soon as she told him," said Death. "He was angry enough as it was that she had moved away from him, and was fed up with her behavior by then. He called it 'the last straw,' and told her that if she thought she was mature enough to live on her own with her boyfriend, then she would have to live with her mistakes as well."

"So she's just going to abort her baby and go on with her life?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes," Death answered simply. "Her boyfriend is taking her down to the abortion clinic as soon as possible. It will still be a few weeks, however, since he's currently in jail for attempting to steal a car and getting into a fight outside of a night club at the beginning of the year."

"Nice," Ulrich said sarcastically. "She's involved with a drunk, loser jailbird." He looked back to her sorrowful, troubled image. "Death, how does she get by?"

"She was lucky enough to come in contact again with an old friend of hers," replied Death. "Desperate for money and support, she apologized profusely to her rich friend, hoping he would pity her and help her through the pregnancy and abortion." Death seemed to shake her head. "It's a shame…I'm sure if she just would have treated him a little better during high school, Herb would have given her so much more money than just rent and groceries…"

Ulrich couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And this is all because I wasn't there for her to follow me around?"

"Yes."

"No way…" Ulrich mumbled under his breath. He quickly changed the subject. "How long before her baby is due?"

"Seven weeks," answered Death. "She is in her last trimester now. It's lately been taking a toll on her, knowing that the due date will be so close to the time her boyfriend will be released. Although, she finds ways to occupy her mind elsewhere, other than on her baby's pending abortion."

A cell phone sat next to the ashtray on the table, similar to the one she had when Ulrich had known her. It rang, and Sissi quickly stamped out her cigarette and answered it. "What's up?" she asked, knowing from the ring tone that it was one of her friends. Her voice had matured, but still had that higher pitch to it, as it did when she was thirteen. After a short pause, she replied. "No, I'm just sitting at home wasting time." Another pause when the other person talked. "No shit?…No, I heard that party sucks." She laughed at her friend's response. "Are you drinking tonight?…Oh, come on. Your job can wait a night." As the conversation continued, she picked up the ashtray and emptied it in the trash as she walked out the room, carrying it with her as she held her cell phone to her hear. Ulrich heard her loud laughter from the other room as the image faded away.

"You can't link my death to all of this," Ulrich told the ghost. "She could've picked that up anytime."

"You're right," Death responded. "She always did want that lifestyle, but she would have never followed it if she had you to chase around." The spirit turned to face him. "Always she waited for you, never accepting that 'popular' life that tempted her, since she longed to be viewed as pure and true as you saw Yumi to be."

"But Yumi isn't a whore now," Ulrich interrupted. "So why did she become one?"

"She had no reason not to," replied Death. "You were gone, she was depressed…the chances were always there for her."

"And so she was lost, too…" Ulrich concluded under his breath, realizing how much she had changed since he had died. "One more person gone…"

"She's not the only other one."

"Oh, god, someone else, too?" Ulrich groaned, his brow creasing from the stress.

Death waved her hand, the image of the schoolyard reappearing again.

* * *

Sorry for the interruption, Kim. I hope you know RP'ing with ya does mean more to me than getting a chapter up. Talk to you soon…..Chapter 9 coming shortly after Christmas! 


	9. Chapter IX

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 9

By: Leelei

**(Important)** Author's Note: I have a lot to tell you guys this time. Things are getting pretty rough right now. My horse is having surgery and my boss wants to fire me for missing work to go see him during visitation hours. I'm already starting to worry about my homework for school and then after my horse comes home from the clinic he'll need daily care for about a month, so I have to run out and get my license on top of all of this. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that there may be slight delays between these last chapters getting posted. I've actuallyoverestimated the length of this fic a little bit since the way I planned it out leaves only a few chapters left, but I'm not going to force myself to finish it through this stress. I love this story, and I want to post it the way I originally planned it, without being affected by my mood or random, tiny little time slots to write entire chapters in. I owe it to you guys to at least finish this story right, if not on time.

I appreciate allof your patience. Thank you.

* * *

The last few scenes had all seemed to be occurring at the same time, or one right after the other, since the new image was just a little later than when Ulrich first saw Yumi and Odd as teenagers. The picture had moved, though, and Ulrich watched a group of younger teens gathered on a picnic table underneath a tree. He first noticed the girl in the center, sitting on the table top.

She was just a few years younger than Odd at the time, tall with long legs and dark skin. "Tamiya…" Ulrich muttered in amazement when he recognized her. The young girl had grown up, her dark hair out if the braids and long then, straightened with barrettes to hold it out of her face. She dressed in pretty much the same style as before, and was surrounded with friends her age, several boys included.

Ulrich searched the small crowd. "Death, where's Milly?" he asked, not seeing the red-haired girl anywhere. "Did she move, or did she and Tamiya stop hanging out together?" He turned to the ghost. "They didn't get into a fight, did they?"

Death looked down, Ulrich believing that he would have seen sorrow if she had any features. "So much…so much…" she mumbled, incoherent to his question.

"Death, what is it?" Ulrich asked, confused by her muttering.

The ghost sighed. "I must start from the beginning, don't mind me." She looked to the image. "Milly and Tamiya did remain friends, supporting each other through your death and the shock of experiencing it at such a young age –especially when it involved someone they knew and were so close to. Milly was devastated, but surprisingly pulled through all right. However…"

"Oh, no…" Ulrich groaned again, tears rising in his eyes.

"She suffered as well. Growing up, she and Tamiya finally matured, as they had always wanted, and had many friends along with their shares of healthy relationships with temporary boyfriends."

"What happened to her, Death?" Ulrich asked, his voice wavering.

"She still attended all those dances…" Death continued distantly as she gazed off. "With each one she had a boyfriend, but always longed to have you back to dance with, or even to have as a date for like she did once when you were alive. It was before one dance during the snowy season, she had a boyfriend who's parents trusted him enough to take their car -even without his license- to go and pick her up, taking her out to eat after waiting for her to have her hair done for the winter formal. She was so beautiful that night…"

"Death," Ulrich's tone became more demanding. "What _happened."_

"The restaurant she wanted to go to was in the opposite direction of the school, and her boyfriend decided to take a shortcut through the winding back roads to make it to the dance in time. She was running for winter formal queen, the first time a girl her age had been nominated, and he wanted her to be there in time for the announcing of the court. It's funny…he never noticed how fast he was actually going when they started sliding. By then it was too late to steer his car out of the path of that tree."

"You're sick, Grim." Ulrich growled lowly, his anger becoming obvious as his tears started to fall. "Was she all right?"

Death looked at him, the darkness of her missing face staring straight at his perplexed features. "No, Ulrich," she answered evenly. "She was not all right…"

Ulrich bit his lip to hold in his emotions, but found the strength to speak. "W-what happened to her after that?"

"She died that night…" Death answered softly, lowering her gaze. "Her boyfriend had promised that they would be there in under ten minutes, so she decided not to bother wearing her seatbelt. The impact killed her, but her boyfriend was able to make it through the accident and remained paralyzed for the rest of his life. He was wearing his seatbelt, but the ice that fell on the car from the tree sunk in the roof and put too much pressure on his spine, crushing several of his vertebrae. In the end, Milly's parents had to choose to have a closed-casket funeral, just like yours had been."

"That's horrible…" Ulrich said weakly, his eyes filling with tears. "She was so young…"

"She lived longer than you did." Death reminded him.

"Yeah, but…" Ulrich searched for the words through his shock. "Her life was worth something. She had so much to live for."

"And you did not?" Death asked. "After all you have seen, you still doubt that your life had any meaning at all?"

"Listen, I know my life had no meaning," the anger built in Ulrich's voice. "Because I lost everything that had meaning to me, and then my will to live went with it all, too." He took a step toward her, his tears flowing freely as he clenched his fists. "I couldn't play soccer anymore, I couldn't keep up in school, Yumi hated me, I was snapping at Jeremie and Odd, and I couldn't even get Aelita to the right tower."

"And yet all of that made you decide to end your life, even though now you see how negatively it has affected all of those people and more?" Death asked.

"Ye-" Ulrich stopped, mid-reply as he gasped, his eyes going wide at a new image that he saw appear in the distance over Death's shoulder. On the white background, another ghost-like figure was floating away from them, its long, tattered, dark blue cloak flowing behind it as it seemed to be wandering. It greatly resembled Death, but with no hood on its own different colored cloak. Short, red hair fell over the new apparition's back as it continued away from them.

Ulrich immediately recognized who it was. "Milly!" he called. The ghost didn't respond, floating far enough away from them. "Milly, come back!"

"She cannot hear you," Death told him. "It is not her task to receive lost souls."

"Why is she here then, Death?" Ulrich asked as he watched the girl vanish into the white. "Shouldn't she be in Heaven now?"

"She hasn't received her judgement yet," answered the spirit. "She didn't live long enough to fulfill her purpose in life, so she must wait in Purgatory until she is sent to her final afterlife." Death lowered her face again. "I wish children weren't able to die this young."

Ulrich regained his composure. "Show me something else, if there is anything else after this," he said evenly in a quiet voice. "And please, no more dying. I don't think I can take anymore of it."

Death paused, as if knowing what would come and contemplating whether or not his request was possible. "Okay," she finally replied. "But I cannot prevent the inevitable if you ask to see it."

"And I'm not going to know it happens unless you show me," Ulrich countered.

Death seemed to snicker. "Now you seem to be understanding." She waved her hand again and they returned to another image on Earth.

* * *

Chapter 10 in the process… 


	10. Chapter X

Death and the Swordsman 

Chapter 10

By: Leelei

Author's Note: It's back! : ) I can't thank you all enough for your caring support and encouragement; in these past two weeks I have seen Heaven and Hell. My horse is doing better now, I'm still holding a job (whoopie…), and I even have a driving test scheduled for next week. Even though school really cracks down around this time, I'm relying on plenty of chances to finish this story pretty soon. Cool news– _Death and the Swordsman_ is now archived! You guys have to check out Ransomed Heart's web site, especially if you're into awesome Code:Lyoko fanfiction. Again, thank you all. I'm so glad to know that I have the best, most understanding readers ever!!! : D

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

When Death and Ulrich were standing back at the schoolyard for a third time, the brunette boy realized that it was later in the evening. All of the students seemed to have returned to their dorms or left for the night, save just a few who still remained.

Yumi had made it back to the school and was waiting patiently near one of the trees in the yard, her arms folded as she repeatedly scanned the grounds. Finally she sighed and walked over to one of the last groups; two boys and a girl, all about Odd's age, sitting under a tree while finishing up their homework.

"Excuse me," Yumi said politely and smiled when the girl looked up to her. "I'm sorry to bother you, but by any chance do you know a student here named Odd della Robbia?"

"Yeah," the girl replied, her legs folded over each other with her thick textbook and notebook in her lap. "Tall, skinny kid with the blonde, spikey hair that's got blue in it? Dresses kind of punk-ish?" Yumi nodded at her description. "He was in my gym class freshman year. Why, are you looking for him?"

"Yes, have you seen him lately by any chance?" Yumi asked. "I told him to meet me back here around this time, but I might be a little early. He should just be getting out of detention."

The girl suddenly had a confused look on her face. "Detention? This late?"

"Yeah…his history teacher wrote him up so he was scheduled to serve one for the last half-hour."

"But they stopped doing evening detentions at the beginning of this year," the girl informed her.

"What?" Yumi frowned as her brow furrowed. "Well then, have you seen Odd around here?"

"I remember seeing you two together here earlier, then after you left he started talking to his friends again, and I think they went somewhere to smoke," the girl answered truthfully.

"Oh…" Yumi replied, looking down to her feet. "So he lied to me again."

"You're his girlfriend, right?" the girl inquired.

"Yes…"

"I hope you kick his ass."

"Thanks…" Yumi muttered with a forced smile. The girl and her two friends packed up their schoolwork and got up to leave.

"See ya," she called with a smile as they walked away.

"Bye…" replied Yumi dejectedly. With a sigh, she leaned her back against the tree and returned to her arms folded, waiting position.

At least ten minutes later, Odd appeared, casually walking up to her as he smiled. "Hey," he said as he hugged her. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," Yumi smiled when she saw him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. After pulling away, they kissed, Yumi trying her best to ignore the cigarette smoke on his breath, the taste of it breaking her heart to know that he lied to her to get out of visiting their friend.

"So how's Jeremie?" Odd asked, holding her hands and caressing them gently with his thumbs, the sweet gesture calming Yumi's twisted emotions.

"He's okay…" the young Japanese woman replied softly, looking down and watching his actions as she felt his soft skin against hers. "The psychiatrist told me that he's had a little bit of insomnia lately."

"The psychiatrist?" Odd asked, the questioning tone in his voice causing Yumi to look up at him. "I thought he was only seeing that guy once a month now."

"Well, you know he always regresses a little on the day it happened," at the mention of 'the day it happened,' Ulrich knew exactly what she was speaking about as he listened to and watched their conversation. "And I guess now he's worse than last year. I set up a time for us to go visit him tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure…" Odd replied, a little less enthusiastic than Yumi had hoped for him to be.

"Well, look at you two!" a new voice called. The couple's attention jerked to the entrance gate of the schoolyard as a tall figure stood watching them. "So the rumors I heard were true!" she exclaimed, a girl Odd's age.

"Death, what's Sissi doing here?" Ulrich asked from where he stood off to the side with the apparition.

Death floated next to him and replied without her attention leaving the new teen. "You will see."

Sissi held a hand to her waist and, in the other, nearly a fistful of rolled up money. She wore a small, tight white polo shirt and a short pink skirt, the outfit somehow managing to still cover her expanded belly. Her shoes had high heels, and she seemed to wobble as she took a few steps towards the couple. She had let her hair down and wore heavy make-up, as she usually did when she went out. She grinned at the sight of the two. "Who had expected Odd and Yumi would ever date?"

"Well now, look what the cat carried in and spit up," Odd replied with a smirk of his own, dropping Yumi's hands and turning to Sissi. "So the rumors we heard about _you_ were true, huh? What are you doing here, you slut?"

"Odd," Yumi looked to him, feeling remorse for Sissi even after all they had been through.

"I just had to make a stop by Kadic and trick old Grandpa into the guilt trip." She waved her money at them. "Daddy could never stay mad at me."

"That's nice, now get your skanky ass out of here," said Odd.

"Oh, but I couldn't go out tonight without stopping by here and visiting you two!" Sissi exclaimed sarcastically. She smiled again. "Is it true what I heard? Are you two really engaged?"

"Engaged?" Ulrich nearly jumped at the word. He turned to Death in a panic, but the spirit continued watching. He tried to calm down, thinking Sissi must have been teasing them or, hopefully, he had heard wrong.

Odd narrowed his eyes at her. "We've talked about it," he answered simply.

"You might as well marry him, Yumi." Sissi said, flipping her hair as she still gripped her money. "I mean, his graduation isn't very far away, and everyone says you're just wasting money taking random piss-away college electives, so maybe you should just get it over with. But, you know," her evil grin returned, "he'll never be Ulrich."

Yumi gasped at her last remark. Any sympathy she felt for the girl had vanished then. "Go away, Sissi," she said through nearly clenched teeth. "We don't want you here anymore."

Sissi laughed. "Why? Because I stopped by to remind you of what reality is for us now? It's over sweetheart, life isn't going to get any better than this."

Odd noticed the pain and frustration in Yumi's features and he took her hand. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up and go away already?" he sneered at Sissi.

"Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy here." Sissi retorted, still smiling. "You keep kissing her feet like that, Odd, and she'll look like me soon enough." A car pulled up outside the entrance and honked. A guy about Yumi's age was driving, and a few other girls that knew Sissi all sat in the passenger seats, moving to make room for her as someone yelled her name out of the rolled down window.

"I said get out of here, bitch!" Odd yelled at her.

Sissi laughed as she turned to catch her ride. "Remember, Yumi," she called back as she walked away from them. "He'll never be Ulrich!"

Yumi felt faint as her breath drew in sharply, quickly putting a hand to her mouth as she felt the sobs growing inside of her. As the car drove away taking Sissi with it, her legs felt weak. Odd looked over and caught her as her calves started to shake. He walked her back over to the tree and pushed her back to it, gripping her arms as he looked straight into her eyes as they watered, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Look, Yumi, don't let anything she says get to you."

Yumi opened her mouth to reply but her voice choked and she wasn't able to. Odd continued, "She's just a stupid ho, what does she think she knows?" He released his grip of one arm and gently wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I-…I-…." Yumi tried to force her voice to work. "I…don't know…"

"Yumi, please, try and get through this without another episode." Odd begged her.

Yumi fought to reply through her tears, "Odd…I still can't let go."

"No one ever asked you to let go. We just wanted you to move on." Odd told her. "Nothing is ever going to change the past, Yumi, I'm sorry."

Yumi couldn't hold her emotions in any longer and she began crying. Odd let go of his grip on her, but caught her in a hug. She buried her face into his shoulder, her arms wrapped securely around him as he held her, slowly running a hand up and down her back. "Shh, it's okay," he whispered softly. "Everything's gonna be okay."

She regained her composure quickly, and within a few minutes Yumi was sniffling to end the last of her tears. The two pulled away and Odd took a hold of her hands again. "Okay now?" he asked.

Yumi couldn't look straight at him. "Odd…I…I honestly don't know," she stuttered. "I just can't truly get over it, no matter how much time has passed."

Odd started to grow impatient. "Yumi, you've always been a strong person. You can get over it by now."

Yumi looked up to him. "What do you mean? By just pushing all of my thoughts and feelings of it aside and just move on?" she asked. "No, I couldn't do that. I'm not like you."

"Hey, I didn't just 'move on,' okay? He was my best friend, Yumi, and I miss him just as much as you do."

"And what about Jeremie? You don't even want to see him anymore!" Yumi cried.

"Yumi!" Odd almost shouted her name in a frustrated reply, dropping her hands and stepping away. "Don't tell me I don't care. I just don't feel like going out there every other damned day."

"But he needs us."

"No he doesn't. He's not the same Jeremie anymore. If he was, I would go out there every time with you, but the times have changed, Yumi." He stepped close to her again. "It's been five years."

Yumi could feel herself choking up again, but tried to stay strong. "I don't want to fight…" she mumbled.

Odd sighed. "Then that makes two of us. I'm sorry." He hugged her again, gently holding on to her arms after they parted. "You've had a long day, let's call it quits for the night. I've got to go finish some homework if I ever want to get out of this place on time."

"Call me tonight?" Yumi asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Promise." He replied and kissed her. "Drive safe."

"I will." Yumi regretted letting go of him, but finally felt his hands slip from her arms as he stepped away. "I love you, Yumi."

"I love you, too, Odd."

Odd left, walking away with his hands in his pockets towards the building that housed his dorm. Yumi watched him for a few moments then left herself, exiting through the school entrance gates and out to a near side street where she had parked her car.

Only Ulrich and Death remained in the empty schoolyard. "Death, don't you dare tell me what I just saw is true."

"I cannot lie to you, Ulrich." Death replied. "This is the honest reality. I told you earlier that I could not prevent unwanted outcomes if you had asked to see something."

"Yeah, but I asked for you not to show me anymore dying, and that," Ulrich paused as he thought about his words, "well…that was pretty much death to me."

"I'm sorry," the apparition responded.

"…It's not your fault," Ulrich replied sadly, lowering his gaze. "It's just that…I don't really understand. She's going to _marry_ him?"

"I know that you must be feeling hurt and surprised, but you have to realize their situation now. Even her parents have encouraged the idea of them marrying shortly after Odd's graduation."

"What?" Ulrich asked. "No way, they wouldn't do that. I know the Ishiyamas, and their so…traditional. And besides, Yumi's dad hardly approved of me when he knew I was dating her, and I know for a fact that he would definitely disapprove of Odd."

"You believe so?" Death asked.

"I know so."

"Then I must find another image to clear this up for you," Death said, turning away from him and waved her arm, changing the scenery around them again.

* * *

Working on the next chapter now…until then, please review! 


	11. Chapter XI

Death and the Swordsman 

Chapter 11

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Oh my gosh, you guys leave the coolest reviews. : ) I love them all so much, but I wanted to reply to the way some of you guys are viewing how I wrote older Sissi.

Yes, she is quite a skank now, but a lot of people are saying that she's too mean. Please don't get me wrong, I appreciate how constructive you all are instead of leaving mindless flames, but I disagree. I just watched "Routine" a few days ago, and I think the last chapter portrayed her personality rather well in comparison. In the episode, she had a selfish, frustrated attitude, and she kept implying that she wanted simply to get rid of Yumi and Emily to get to Ulrich, not caring at all if she were to hurt the two girls' emotions (and also treating poor Nicholas and Herb in the background like trash, in my opinion). See now, this is where I wish I would've continued Chapter 10 a little more…..I wanted to add that she still has a vendetta with Odd and Yumi, but it's on a different level now. She wanted a way to hurt Yumi after what Odd said to her (knowing that he would be offended, too), and knew just how to using only words, like she does so easily –and so often- in the show.

But then again, this character is definitely NOT the one from the series anymore. I totally agree with all of you on that part- I think the pregnant, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed version came along after my imagination ran away with its creative lisence. : D I know she's better than that.

Thanks again for all your support…I can't believe the rap I'm getting now as an author from this story! Wow…_none_ of my other fanfiction is like this. Ah well, I trust you guys to understand. : ) Not very much of this left!!

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

The image changed to the inside of a lightly packed restaurant where Death and Ulrich stood near an empty table near the middle of the dining room. Ulrich couldn't put a name to the new location, but soon recognized the small dinner party that took the vacant seats.

Yumi and Odd entered first, along with Yumi's parents behind them. Ulrich was surprised to see just how much five years had aged his friend's parents, both Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama seeming slightly more pale and gray-haired, with heavy wrinkles under their eyes and thick creases in Mr. Ishiyama's brow.

Odd pulled out a chair for Mrs. Ishiyama and helped her sit down, the older woman smiling graciously and thanking him as he bowed. She had grown to adore Odd and his caring, funny behavior. After the parents were seated, Odd did the same for Yumi, the young adult smiling and giggling at his gesture. After Odd had finally sat down himself next to Yumi, he spoke up, "I'll go get our drinks."

"But Odd," Mrs. Ishiyama replied. "You just sat down!"

"It's okay," Odd said as he jumped up again. "I don't mind." He lifted himself from the chair and jogged away from the table, the chains from the wallet in his back pocket to his belt making noise against the table as he left. Ulrich looked to Mr. Ishiyama, knowing that he would disapprove of the eccentric accessory, let alone the disruption it caused, but the man showed nothing of the emotion as he unwrapped the folded napkin in front of him.

"All right, here we go." Odd returned a few minutes later and broke the silence between the small family. He managed to hold on to four cups, setting them all down without managing to spill anything. "Coffee and cream for Mr. Ishiyama –decaff because I know you have to wake up early tomorrow- and green tea for you, Mrs. Ishiyama." He distributed their drinks to them.

The parents both smiled. "Why, thank you, Odd." Yumi's mother replied.

"Thanks," Mr. Ishiyama added with a smile as he looked up to the teen.

"No problem." Odd then pushed the last two cups over to his and Yumi's side,

hurrying around the chairs and sitting next to her again. "Here, Yumi," he held her soft drink out to her. "They didn't have your favorite, but I got this for you. It's the same as mine."

Yumi eyed it suspiciously as her parents watched intently. "Odd, what is it?"

"Trust me," Odd said. "You'll like it."

Yumi took it and slowly sipped the drink, smiling after she swallowed. "Wow, this

is better than what I usually get!" she said. Her parents smiled proudly at Odd's thoughtfulness involving their daughter.

Ulrich watched in utter disbelief. "So what, they like him now?" 

Death nodded. "Yes, they even approve of him for Yumi now."

"But…" Ulrich's own brow creased, the frustration hurting him inside. "But that still should've been _me_… Death, what's going on? You said you were going to explain this to me."

"I did," Death replied. "And I will…Ulrich, as I said before, you must understand that the times have changed. The family you see before you is different than the friends and adults you knew when you were alive."

"Yeah, but my feelings for all of them haven't changed, and it seems like theirs have stayed the same for me," Ulrich stopped himself quickly and rethought his statement. "Well, at least all but Odd's…"

"I can see Odd's change has hurt you the most, even more than Yumi's," Death said.

"Yeah…he just seems so unlike the person I had known…my best friend…"

Death waved her arm and made the image disappear, leaving the two to stand in the vast white again. "Tell me what you would like to know."

"Why did he change?" Ulrich asked immediately. "Yumi's parents couldn't possibly approve of him; he lies, swears, and that girl said he was smoking earlier!" Ulrich was becoming frustrated. "Why does Yumi even approve of him anymore?"

"You are right, Odd has changed, but he hasn't made a transition for the worse, you have to admit. He's still in school, he takes care of Yumi and watches out for her and her family, and he always plans to take care of himself and his girlfriend in the future."

"And the lying, swearing, and smoking? Where does that fit in as 'not being for the worse?'" Ulrich asked skeptically.

"Even though you are offended by those things, they have been shown to hurt Odd himself more than others. You have to look at the overall picture now, Ulrich; he moved on, but didn't leave himself behind like the others did." Death explained. "And as for his faults…no one is perfect."

"So he's just an average guy now, by what you're saying," replied Ulrich. "Trying to forget the past, living each day as they come. But what about this marriage? Why do you say that he's going to marry Yumi? I mean, what ever happened to Sam and all those girls that he always chased after?"

"Sam moved to America later in the year of your death," answered the apparition. "With Odd still in his short-lived depression, he wasn't in the mood to convince her to talk her parents' out of their decision to move to the United States. And as for all the other girls…Odd just simply started to ignore them. He had his friends, but as he spent more time with Yumi, he grew more attached to her."

"And then they fell in love…" Ulrich mumbled, his eyes downcast as the reality of the situation hit him.

"Yes," Death replied. "Yumi also grew attached to him, never being able to let go of the past, viewing him as her only link left to it besides Jeremie."

"So that's why she visits Jeremie all the time, even if he wasn't the same anymore?" Ulrich asked with a look back up to the ghost.

Death nodded. "She never could let go." The spirit continued explaining, "Yumi's parents were skeptical of her and Odd's relationship at first, but then were supportive after they saw the improvement in Yumi's personality when she was around him. They had spent thousands of dollars in therapy trying to keep their daughter sane after her loss, and they knew that if Odd would help her, then they wouldn't jeopardize her happiness. They could tell he was important to her just by how her face brightened up when he entered the room, or how easy she was to talk to when with him. Ulrich, they just wanted her to remain healthy and normal."

Ulrich sighed painfully, his brow creasing as he kept his vision from the apparition. "I understand…"

"But of course Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama had their doubts at first about Odd's ability to support their daughter, especially so early after his graduation from high school, but he had surprised them with a promised position after he had finished school.

"He had remained a musician, learning to play different instruments and joining, and starting, plenty of bands throughout his teen years, until he called it quits his senior year to concentrate on his grades, like Yumi had wanted him to do, instead of all the music and partying. However, Odd had met many label representatives during those years, and kept in touch with them, letting them know of other up-and-coming bands even though none of them ever picked up on any of his. His talents and knowledge of music eventually led his friends at one label to sign a band that blew up, sky-rocketing over all the charts in Europe and the U.S., selling millions of CD's worldwide. After that, Odd was guaranteed a well-paid position as a talent scout."

"And Yumi?" Ulrich asked.

"Yumi just followed along with it…she went to all the concerts with him, smiled and shook the hands of all his "big time" friends, and went with him wherever he traveled. She enjoyed the lifestyle, but it was never fulfilling. Influenced by Odd's vocation, she finally settled on a major in college and became a music teacher. The music business had never seemed right for her as a career, but she found peace in it anyway through the years, finding time to work in local schools teaching students how to sing and read basic music notes."

"I know she always liked singing, but she didn't want to do that forever," said Ulrich. "She never went into some high-paying career? God, she was so smart…she could've done _anything."_

Death shook her head. "Not while in Odd's shadow."

Suddenly a loud tolling of a bell was heard. It was short, but shook whatever the flooring Ulrich had been standing on in the white area, sending shivers up his spine. "Death, what was that?" he asked, trying to hide the fright in his tone.

Death just gazed upwards. "That was just a warning," answered the apparition. "It is almost time for your final judgment."

Ulrich's eyes went wide. "My…my final judgement?" he stuttered, forgetting all about the pending time while he was with the spirit.

"Don't worry, Ulrich," Death tried to calm him. "I still have to show you more before the end."

Ulrich quivered at her statement, but closed his eyes and nodded. The end for him _was_ near, he knew it.

But he didn't know then if it was still what he wanted.

* * *

Yes, you read correctly; it's coming to an end. Next chapter just needs the finishing touches, so expect it soon. Until then, please review! : ) 


	12. Chapter XII

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 12

By: Leelei

Author's Note: I thought the last chapter was a little off (I guess that's what happens when you get a little blocked halfway through it), but I'm definitely more assured of this one. Oh wow….you guys have been making predictions about the ending to this story for a while….

…and all I can do is bite my tongue! ; ) I think you'll like it. Or at least, I'm hoping you will! Until then, here's the next step getting there.

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

"Man, I really didn't have a life outside of school…" muttered Ulrich as he and Death stood just outside the grounds of a school for yet another time. He looked up at the entrance gate and noticed that he was back at Kadic again. The two saw a small group of students walking along the sidewalk and picked up on their conversation as the young pre-teens waited for the busy street to clear before crossing the road.

"Are you going to that city championship soccer game between the schools this weekend?" one girl asked.

"Maybe," a boy shrugged. "But Lincoln West is gonna win, like always. I usually just don't bother going."

"Hey, doesn't Kadic have a chance this year?" another girl asked.

"Pfft," the boy gave her a disgusted look. "Are you kidding? Kadic's soccer team sucks. They didn't even make it past the season."

"Hey!" Ulrich exclaimed angrily, balling his fists as he glared at the boy.

"At least they _have_ a soccer team this year," the first girl spoke up again.

"What do you mean?" asked the second.

"I guess, like five years ago, Kadic had a really good soccer team, and they even beat Lincoln during that regular season, but one of their players was killed in a car accident," the first girl explained. "After that, they either can't get a team, or the players they do find aren't that good. It's kind of sad," the girl added. "The kid who died was their best player."

The street finally cleared. "Hey, let's get going," the boy announced and the small group crossed the street, leaving Ulrich's and Death's hearing distance.

Ulrich watched as they left. "They were talking about me, weren't they?"

The ghost nodded. "Yes. And everything they said about your team was true."

"What happened?" Ulrich asked, turning to the apparition. "My death should have helped them…I was doing horrible. But I bet Theo was finally able to play; he couldn't wait for an opening on the team so he could get into the games."

"Theo refused to join the team after your death," the apparition replied bluntly.

"What?"

"In fact, many of the players quit during that season," continued Death. "They all thought it was too awkward to play without you."

"What do you mean? They all wanted to win…" 

"But they couldn't without _you._" Death stared at Ulrich. "They tried to play the game with you missing that following weekend, one of the players from the bench filling in your spot, but the team felt empty because of your permanent absence. They lost, of course, but then after loosing again and again, the members started to quit, complaining that it felt wrong to play after what happened to you. Finally, the entire team went to the principal and announced that they were over for the season, only a few of the players picking up the sport again later in high school."

"But what about the teams after that?" Ulrich asked. "Jim loved coaching soccer, he wouldn't have let the team at Kadic just die like that."

"He tried his best, but even he thought it was hopeless without you." Death replied. "He had lost a lot of his stubbornness and persistence after he wasn't able to chase you and your friends around looking for 'secrets.' His change influenced his willingness to keep the team together, and he barely held practices even when there were enough students interested."

"And what about the other players on my team?" asked Ulrich. "I thought soccer was my entire life, but they were even more into it than I was. You mean to tell me that they all just quit?"

"Yes." Death replied simply. "And it's a shame…three of those players would have received scholarships to follow your friends into the local boarding high school. Without them, their parents couldn't afford the expensive schooling, and the students had to return home to public schools and local colleges. Now, there are two less neurosurgeons in this world, and one less candidate for the presidency of France."

"_What?_" Ulrich asked, the statement surprising him unexpectedly. "Who would've ran for president?"

Death seemed to have missed his question. "We have to move on. I need to show you another image, and we are running out of time." The apparition waved her arm again and they stood on another sidewalk, just outside a small Parisian apartment.

Ulrich looked around them and noticed that they were on the other side of the city, closer to his gravesite. "Death, where are we now?" he asked.

"Look up and you will see," the spirit responded, already gazing up at the second story window.

Ulrich looked up and gasped at what he saw. A thin, older woman walked out onto the small balcony overlooking the side street outside the old building. She carried a small flowerpot, setting it inside the plant box attached to the twisted iron barrier surrounding the ledge. She sighed and pushed her graying, dark brown hair out of her forlorn eyes as she turned away, walking slowly back into her home.

"Death…" Ulrich tried to find the strength to speak through a quivering voice. "She….She…." Finally he cried out, "She's my mother!"

"Yes, Ulrich." Death confirmed his answer.

"But…but…" Ulrich continued to stutter. "But why is she here in Paris?"

"She lives here now," answered Death. "She has ever since your funeral."

"…What?"

"She just couldn't think of leaving you after your death," explained Death. "The reality of loosing a child was so harsh for her, and she felt that her life was meaningless without you."

"No way!" Ulrich snapped, emotions refueling his strength. "She and Dad sent me off to Kadic like it was no big deal! Don't tell me she was _that_ affected."

"Ulrich, do you doubt your mother's love for you?" Death asked.

"Well…no," Ulrich thought again. "But she would've gotten over it by now. It's been, what? Five years now since I died."

"And five years of long, lonely days for her."

"What about my dad? Where is he?" Ulrich asked.

"Your father divorced your mother early on in the year following your death," the spirit said, noticing the shock appear on Ulrich's face. "He did move on, as you said your mother would, but wasn't as willing to put up with his wife's sulking and mourning, as you saw Odd was with Yumi. He returned to his then empty home after your funeral, your mother remaining in Paris after renting an apartment, never wanting to leave your grave."

"Why didn't they bury me at home?" Ulrich asked. "It probably would've been hard for my friends to go to the funeral, but that was where I was born and where my family is."

"Your father didn't want you to be buried with your ancestors," answered Death. "He wanted to move on."

"So he just left me behind in France with Mom?" Ulrich's voice rose, upset elevating with it.

"Yes." Death replied, sadness peeking through her tone.

After a long absence from them, tears began building in Ulrich's eyes. "I thought he cared about me… I never thought I was _that_ big of a screw-up…In fact, I _know _I wasn't that big of a screw-up…"

The bell tolled again, seemingly louder in its second time. Ulrich looked to Death, who held a downcast look. "We only have time for one more image," she told him sullenly, his mood affecting her.

"Then please," Ulrich begged. "Let it be peaceful."

Death looked back to him. With a pause, she seemed to be searching for the right words. "I promise you will find some comfort in it."

With a small smile on his face, Ulrich watched as she waved her arm one last time.

* * *

Like I said, very proud of this one. Kind of made Ulrich's dad look like a scumbag, but hey- it happens. Next chapter is written, so it should be up shortly. After that, I think there's only _two _left. Until next time, au revoir! (and please drop a review on your way out! ;D) 


	13. Chapter XIII

Death and the Swordsman

Chapter 13

By: Leelei

Author's Note: Oh my gosh you guys…this is so exciting! This story is getting so close to one hundred reviews! I've been posting fan fiction on this site for nearly five years in random categories, but none of my stories have ever been read by this many people. It's always kind of been my goal to break three digits, but being this close makes me feel so happy! :D Especially knowing that they're all so positive and nice! Wow…nostalgia is fun.

Anyhow, this is a rather short chapter (but the next one will definitely make up for that). I've waited so long to write this part; I think it's so beautiful. Sad, but lots of emotion. Thought it would be longer, but I guess it didn't need to be. Okay maybe I should shut up before this Author's Note gets to be longer than the damn chapter… On with the fic already, damn it!

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

Ulrich and Death stood in the cemetery that evening, just as the sun was starting to set. Ulrich stood solemnly, tears straining his eyes as he looked upon his grave and saw the person visiting it.

Yumi knelt to the side of the tombstone, never sitting or standing directly in front of it. She was quiet at first, with tears in her own eyes, but soon spoke up.

"Ulrich, I visited Jeremie today," she said softly as she gazed at the headstone. "He could be doing a little better. I try to stay positive about his situation, but I worry everyday now…Please say hello to Aelita for him…tell her that he really misses her."

Ulrich felt his face twist as the tears started to stream down his cheeks. He choked out softly, "Yumi…if I can get to Heaven, I promise I will."

Yumi seemed to snicker next after a short pause. "I saw Sissi today when I was with Odd…she really looks like a cow," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was having twins!"

Ulrich tried to keep his breathing even as he listened to Yumi speak to him. The young Japanese woman went on, "Oh…my father asked me again last night about marrying Odd… I guess my mother has already contacted a dressmaker she knows in Tokyo who could make me a kimono for the wedding…I know I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but they're really pushing this on me." Her voice wavered, and she sobbed once. After a few moments of trying to keep her composure, she spoke up again through her tears. "I…I miss you so much, Ulrich. I wish you were still here with me."

Ulrich was hurt by her sadness. "Death," he spoke up, glancing at the apparition next to him. "I know that she can't hear or see us," he paused as he was trying to keep his own tears held back. "But…could I please speak to her?"

Death looked to him, then to Yumi. "You understand that none of these people in any image you have seen have been able to see or hear us, right?" she asked as she looked back to him.

"Yeah…" Ulrich replied. "That would be too easy."

Death seemed to sigh dejectedly. "But I feel your pain, Ulrich, and I wish to help you somehow," she said. "Go up to her, and she will know your presence."

A smile formed on Ulrich's troubled features. "Thanks," he said softly in reply. Slowly he walked over to Yumi, looking around as he did. No one else was in the cemetery that late, save a couple groundsmen at the opposite ends of the large lot, both letting the Japanese visitor be, since they saw her so frequently and knew her name and the name of the tombstone she always visited by heart.

Ulrich stopped once he was next to Yumi. He shivered when he looked down to realize that he was standing six feet above his dead body. "Yumi…" he whispered as he looked over the young woman's features, another small smile forming on his own.

Yumi held her hands together in front of her, both falling limp as she slumped further to the ground. Sorrow overwhelmed her as the tears fell down her cheeks. "Ulrich…" she gently called his name.

Without hesitation, Ulrich leaned in and slowly brushed his fingers against her cheek, wiping the tears away and caressing her soft skin. "Hello, Beautiful," he said to her, still smiling.

Yumi's attention quickly jerked to the side and she looked around her, seeing nothing. Just then, a gentle breeze blew by her, lightly passing over her skin. Her eyes grew wide as she dropped her hands to the ground in front of her, ready to get up to her feet. Just as she was about to jump up, she felt the breeze pass and a calm serenity about her. Leaning back on her legs, she looked to the tombstone then instantly up to her left, making direct eye contact with Ulrich.

The brunette boy grinned then as he watched her. Yumi was looking back at him, yet truly saw nothing. Finally, she understood and smiled gently as she felt the soft breeze around her again.

"I love you, Ulrich," she whispered into the wind.

Ulrich couldn't feel an end to his tears. Although he was happy to see that she still loved him, he knew that he couldn't be with her, and the feeling was splitting him inside. He wanted to stay there forever, knowing that she could feel his presence, but soon his thoughts were shaken.

The sound of the bell returned and rang for the third time, then the loudest and longest it had been out of all the tolls.

"Ulrich," Death's voice sounded pained. "It's time for your final judgement now."

Ulrich's features twisted again as he began to tremble, still keeping his eyes on Yumi. "Yumi, I love you…" he whispered to her. The image started to fade around them. His tears fell freely as he saw her starting to disappear. "Yumi," he cried. "_I love you!_"

Then she was gone. Ulrich felt weak as he tried to find the strength to stand. He turned to Death once they were back in the white nothingness, feeling faint and with his hands shaking, the entire color of his skin draining to a pale shade.

"I'm sorry, Ulrich," Death told him. "This is the end."

* * *

Yeah…that isn't the actual end just yet. :D But the second last chapter is written, although it might need some heavy revision. All I can say is that I'll have it posted as soon as it's ready : ) Until then, thanks for reading, and please review! (nine more, damn it, nine more! Lol ;D) 


	14. Chapter XIV

Death and the Swordsman 

Chapter 14

By: Leelei

Author's Note: You guys have no idea how long I've waited to write this chapter. I know I've said before that I really liked how some of the other ones came out, but this -by far- is my absolute favorite –possibly the reason why I wrote this story. You've all been guessing…well, here it is! And let's just say…I love the twist ;D

As for the one hundred reviews; thank you! : ) First of all, thanks to everyone who had dropped a review ever since the beginning, and also now especially to those who went out of their way to bump me up to the big one double-O. It's always been my little goal to do that, and now I finally have reached it thanks to all of you. I truly, _truly _appreciate all of your kind words and support for this story.

Disclaimer: I can't believe that I haven't put this in yet! It's not too late for one of these, right? But seriously, if I _did_ own this show, we'd already be on post production for, like, season eight by now… Sadly, I don't own Code:Lyoko!

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

"Death," Ulrich still trembled. "I'm really scared…"

"You shouldn't be," the apparition replied. "But I understand your feelings. Everyone I have met here has felt the same way."

Ulrich looked to her at the mention of the others she had encountered. "Did any of them have happy endings?" he asked.

Death nodded. "Yes, many of them did." She paused, slightly faltering before she continued. "Although, I cannot lie…many of them also did not."

Ulrich bit his lip at the sound of possible doom. He fought to hold in his tears, but they continued to fall freely as he looked down to his feet. "So…this is it. My end."

Death nodded again, then more slowly. "This is what you wanted."

Ulrich looked back to her, about to reply when he felt a breeze pick up around him. It wasn't as soft or comforting as the one Yumi had felt, rather it was cold, harsh, and frightening. Ulrich held his arms as he felt goose bumps forming on his skin, the cold raising the hairs on his exposed limbs. "Death, what's happening?" he shouted over the roar of the air.

The apparition's voice seemed to raise over the sound of the wind. "Ulrich, I have already told you. I must deliver to you your final judgement."

Ulrich's eyes went wide as he saw the gusts of wind suddenly surround Death, the spirit holding her arms out as she was lifted up at least a foot further from the ground she was floating over. The wind circled above her, roaring and whistling as it transformed into dark clouds, filling the sky of the white room. Death seemed to glow brighter while her face remained hidden, her white features surging with a mysterious power.

"Ulrich," her voice grew louder, sounding sharper and clearer than before, but still misted by a wave of energy surrounding her. "The time has come. The last part of the journey to your final afterlife begins now."

"Death!" Ulrich cried. "Please…"

"There is but one step left," the spirit announced. Ulrich listened intently. "You have seen the affects your death has had on those truly near to you, and you have watched their lives without you. Now you must know their endings as well."

Ulrich gulped hard, feeling a sob forming in his throat. The apparition continued, "First, the man who had killed you in the car accident received a life sentence from the courts after you were pronounced dead. He was forced to leave behind a young, pregnant wife to her own life of pain, and his child to live without ever fully knowing his own father."

"What?" Ulrich gasped, the sudden information hitting him hard. "But that's not fair! He didn't mean to kill me! I was the one who walked out in front of him!"

"Next, the girl you referred to as Sissi," Death moved along quickly, Ulrich closing his eyes and beginning to pray in his thoughts, "suffered a hard and painful miscarriage later in her seventh month of pregnancy, the baby not being able to survive through her body's endless torture. She lost her child through the stillbirth, and also nearly her life. She drank heavily following her loss, hoping to simply forget all of her sorrows. It wasn't until her boyfriend returned home from jail that she moved out of their apartment, tiring of fighting with him every night. Her father let her back into his care, helping her to clean up her life and finish school.

"Although she was given a second chance, she still could not give up all of her habits. Later on, she contracted Hepatitis C, and her liver soon started to fail as well. She spent the last days of her life taking many medications and battling addiction to several pain killers. She died young, and a father was left to bury his daughter."

"No…" Ulrich mumbled as his tears began to fall again. "Don't say that. Oh, god…Sissi, please forgive me…"

"And as for your parents," Death moved quickly again. "Your father eventually remarried, having two children with his second wife after taking in her daughter as his own. He still sent your mother money every once in a while, yet never visited or spoke to her. She, on the other hand, never remarried, or even dated, again. Her sister convinced her to leave France and move in with her own family shortly after you saw her, sensing a fear that your mother would just waste away without anyone to care for her.

"Your mom finally found comfort again in raising your cousins while your aunt and uncle worked, but once they were out of the house she returned to her lonely state, moving back into her home in Paris and visiting your grave every morning. It helped that Yumi always remained in touch with her; the two women visited during the holidays and wrote regularly, having shared the same pain that plagued their everyday lives. While your father died of natural causes at an old age, she was considered to die young, and was still said to have just 'wasted away'…"

Ulrich's grip on his arms lowered to his abdomen as he grew sick, his stomach feeling as if it was turning inside of him. "Death, please stop…" he begged through a choked voice.

"There is more," she replied abruptly. "You must learn of your friend Jeremie's future as well."

"I don't know if I can handle anymore of this!" Ulrich cried out as he felt the pain inside of him rise.

"Jeremie remained in the boys' home for the rest of his life, never being able to contact Lyoko, or even touch another computer again. Slowly his mind regressed…Yumi still visited him, promising every time to return and comfort him again. Then, when they all had grown older, Yumi had to work and live her own life. She regretted it, but her visits with him grew shorter and less frequent, until finally she only could see him at random, and few, times over the years.

"Without the girl he had spent over a year of his life to be with, and all of his friends and family dead to him -not just you- Jeremie felt that he couldn't go on. He was reported dead at age twenty-four from a drug overdose."

Ulrich could have collapsed. His whole body went numb at the mention of his young friend's untimely death. He continued crying, not being able to respond, and having no words to anyway.

The apparition continued, "He was found unconscious one morning after he didn't show up for breakfast. The doctors soon realized that the medicine he was given the night before wasn't his regular prescription, but more powerful pills that were lethal to his system in their quantity.

"However, after further investigation the police found a tape from a security surveillance camera located near the medicine room in the home. The truth was finally known that Jeremie was able to use his genius intelligence one last time, finding a way to break into the locked and secured door to change his medication for the next evening, replacing his own with a deadly combination that resembled his own dosage. When the nurse went to retrieve his pills, she had no idea of what he had done."

"Death, stop it!" Ulrich suddenly yelled. "Stop! Please, just stop!"

"But Ulrich," Death seemed to lower slightly and floated straight towards him, her missing face staring straight into his eyes. "You have yet to hear what happened to Odd and Yumi."

Ulrich quivered as he took a step backwards, fear suddenly taking him over as the ghost approached him. His breath quickened as his heart pounded, anxiety completely filling his bloodstream. He opened his mouth to plead again, but his voice failed him.

"Ulrich, your best friend married your girlfriend the year following his graduation," Death's words burned through him. "Odd became a successful label representative, and Yumi settled on becoming a music teacher. The two lived with Yumi's parents for a few months until Odd was able to buy his wife a house just outside of Paris. Yumi took a job in a local elementary school, traveling with her husband during the summer and on school vacations to attend concerts and meet with musicians. But as Odd's life grew more and more fulfilled, hers seemed to empty."

"Death…" Ulrich's voice sounded hoarse through his tormented tears. "I'm begging you…stop…"

"Yumi soon wasn't able to visit you, either, and her life grew dark as she felt that she wasn't able to speak to you on a regular basis. The only joy she had left was the undying love from her husband, Odd, and from the birth of their daughter, Megami Aelita della Robbia."

Ulrich cried out, not being able to withstand it anymore. His face twisted painfully as he began sobbing. "Oh, god," he wailed through his distress. "Please, make it end!"

Death pressed on, "Their daughter grew up happy and healthy, only knowing little about the two boys her parents had known when they were young, and how much sorrow it caused her mother and father when they talked about them, sometimes mentioning another girl as well. But overall, she was bright and sociable, earning scholarships and many friends throughout her school years.

"Eventually she was accepted into Oxford University, her father largely helping her to move into the England college after traveling to the country many times himself. Yumi was happy to see her daughter grow and mature, but then she felt her life empty again. After Megami left them, Odd traveled more often, leaving Yumi behind in France every time she refused to accompany him. Later on, he was permanently positioned in the United States, flying his daughter and her own family over to visit with him during their spare time, but was never able to convince his wife to live with him there. None were able to make it in time to reach Yumi's bedside while she was dying, their plane flights delaying them as they hurried to see her. Odd and their daughter were crushed to learn that she had died alone before they could comfort her. Although she loved her family, Yumi always knew that they never had her entire heart. "

Ulrich was nearly hysterical by then. Tears flooded his vision, falling in endless streams down his red face as his tight fingers trembled and his skin felt heated. His grip strengthened on his stomach, and he began to feel light-headed.

The dark clouds in the sky began to move, causing the wind to pick up again. As it whistled around them, Death floated in front of Ulrich, tall and powerful next to the young, helpless boy. The bells were heard tolling again in the distance, then faded away.

"Ulrich," Death said. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Through his agony, Ulrich slowly looked up to her. Breathing unevenly, he lowered his head, gazing as his mind raced. "Aelita," he finally said, looking back to the spirit. "You never told me what happened to Aelita after she was lost."

Suddenly the clouds grew darker. The wind roared again, jerking Ulrich's attention to the louder sound. His vision quickly turned back to Death as her aura began glowing even brighter.

"You wish to know what happened to her?" she asked, her voice becoming clearer than Ulrich had ever heard it as he tried to recognize it again.

"Yes," Ulrich answered softly. "Please, tell me."

Without a response, Death held out her arms. The wind blew around her, flapping her long cloak as the glow in her color then started to fade. Slowly, she floated to the ground, setting down on small feet. She lowered her arms once the wind disappeared, her long tunic falling flat against her thin body, the hood covering over her face. A delicate hand appeared from one of the long sleeves, reaching up and pulling back the hood. A young girl was revealed, about Ulrich's age, with pale skin, kind eyes, and very short, bright, pink hair.

"_AELITA!_" Ulrich shouted her name, the sudden shock of the realization feeling as if it stopped his heart beat. "Oh my god!" he cried, falling to his knees in front of her. Then he understood whose voice he had been hearing the entire time. It was the virtual girl he had failed to save, then standing in front of him in her human form. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" he immediately began mumbling through his tears as he cried at her feet.

Aelita lowered herself and took a hold of his arms, lifting him up with her as she stood. Looking into his troubled features, she smiled and spoke softly. "Ulrich, I am always here with you now."

"But…" Ulrich stuttered, his voice finding some strength within him. "But…how? How did this happen? You're…you're the Angel of Death!"

Aelita nodded. "I was once human, Ulrich. I know you remember. But without an originally human body to return to after being removed from Lyoko like you, Odd, and Yumi each had, my materialized form simply died. When I reached my own afterlife, I couldn't go anywhere. I had to remain here and receive lost souls, since that is what mine had become." Ulrich's face twisted again as more tears continued to fall. Aelita tried to smile encouragingly again for him. "Ulrich, please don't blame yourself for what has happened to me. I know you wish you could return to Earth as much as I do, but it's time now." She let go of him and took a step back.

"Aelita?" Ulrich called to her, not knowing what she was about to do.

"Ulrich," she announced. "This is your final judgement."

The winds immediately raged as the clouds milled and crashed, causing thunder above the other storm. Ulrich looked around frantically at the chaotic sky, his vision then settling back on Aelita.

"Ulrich Stern, you have wished for your death and have received it." Aelita said. "You have seen what pain you have caused those who have known and loved you, and you have learned how your loss has affected their lives. Now _you_ will receive your true death."

The words haunted him, Ulrich gasping at her last sentence. "No!" he shouted. Aelita stepped towards him again, starting to chant in an ancient language. "Aelita, stop!" Ulrich pleaded again. "Please, don't! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I caused all of this! I didn't want anyone else to be hurt!" The wind and clouds raged louder as Aelita continued on.

"I don't want to be dead anymore! I don't want to be dead!" Ulrich screamed, above the winds, above the commotion of the returning bells. "_I want to live again!_"

Aelita chanted once more, then slipped into a language he could understand. "Ulrich, this is the end. You have received your wish." She reached out to him.

Ulrich's eyes went wide as he watched her set her hands on his chest and push him backwards. "No, Aelita!" he yelled. "_NO!_"

He tried to reach out to her, but started to fall. With one last look back up to her as he left the white beyond, he felt his body rotate around while he continued to drop downwards. His vision slowly focused, and he thought he could see a city in a nighttime scene surrounding him. His mind scrambled for a second as he continued to shout, the blinding headlights of a car near and the sounds of the loud horn filling the air as the black pavement of a street was racing towards him.

Then everything went black once again.

* * *

The last chapter is written, so you can expect it soon! Until then -as always- thanks for reading, and please review! :D 


	15. Chapter XV

Death and the Swordsman 

Chapter 15

By: Leelei

Author's Note: I didn't know how to write this last Note, so I decided to put it in a letter form, even though it's pretty corny.

Dear reader,

I'm so glad you have read this far, and hope that you will like the ending of this story. I know that, personally, I'm glad to see it's finally over. Since this is the last time I will be able to post anything for this fic, I need to justify it once more. _Death and the Swordsman _is obviously not a cannon Code:Lyoko fan fiction, you all know that, but actually has turned out to be a reflection of my life these past months since summer.

I told you once before that my horse was sick, delaying a few of these chapters from being posted, but he was actually receiving another surgical procedure for minor corrections to the one he had at the end of summer. That first one was a life-threatening emergency, and nearly loosing him that day wrecked my life for a long time. It's hard to explain my relationship towards my horse, since many still see him as just a pet, but he's more than that. He's like my best friend, I spend so much time and energy on him, taking him to horse shows every year and knowing that he would do anything I asked of him. As you read in this story, loosing a friend really hurts, and nearly loosing mine was proof enough for me.

After my experience with my horse, I found a much better understanding of death. I had feared it before, cringing at the thought of never waking again, but now I see it as something that can't be avoided and that shouldn't be feared at all.

"_Death is viewed on Earth as a frightening, disastrous occurrence, and yet humans forget to realize that is inevitable. Not all unavoidable things are ominous. I am here as an angel to disregard the symbol of the evil thought of in it."_

Writing this story helped me find peace with my near loss, especially since it was centered around the end of life. Although, every now and then as I was writing something, or thinking of a scene or chapter ahead of what I was typing, I had to remind myself, I couldn't fear the end. I had no reason to, since I had it coming.

But I had cheated Death. My horse is still here with me today.

Now reading through what I have posted, I could kick myself for all the stupid grammar mistakes I picked up on. Wow…I really should get a beta reader, lol. I don't know how you guys could have left all those nice reviews; I would've bashed the hell out of this fic for all of that crap if I were you.

Needless to say, this story has helped me grow out of the depression that followed all of my pain. My horse's recovery was long, and my daily routine of life has changed completely ever since his emergency. As I look back now, when I had to explain and defend parts of my story, I feel disappointed because I was reflecting a part of my life then, and not telling the story.

I think older Odd was a close representation of what I went through, but -crazy as I think it is- older Sissi is actually a better example of how I had changed. I just felt like I couldn't go on, nearly drowning in a life of misery and attempts to make myself happy with temporary relief as I waited for my life to just simply return to how I always lived it, in a never-ending system that I rarely ever broke.

But this is my reality now. I can't change it, so I have made my peace with it. This storyhas helped me move on, and look back without the pain reemerging again. It feels so nice to know that you have enjoyed it. I really did like how the plot and events of it unfolded, but the significance of it wants me to move on now. I have to end it here, since this is really the last chapter, although I'm glad to have shared this with all of you.

I hope to finish a few fics soon that are _actual_ Code:Lyoko fiction. Although I want to move on so badly, I think I may end up writing more emotion-driven, out-of-the-show's-plot fics like these again. I know that I would really love to do an AU soon, but a couple earlier chapters in this fic made me realize that I adore writing about Lyoko and the team helping Aelita to fight X.A.N.A. and all his monsters. I guess I'll have to just wait and see what ideas hit me first.

Thank you again for all of your support. Every kind word, every expressed feeling, every request for the next chapter has really touched me, this fic closer to me than most others I have written and will write. Thanks again to Ransomed Heart for archiving this damn fic on her site. Lol, I don't know how you've put up with it, but thanks for not canning it even after all the controversial twists and turns. That and the one hundred reviews have already made my entire year. : )

So this is it. The end. The real end. I really hope you guys have read this…I know how much of a pain in the ass Author's Notes always are, especially long-ass ones like these. I wanted to have this on a separate web site and just leave an URL for it, but is really anally retentive about links these days. I probably would've just skimmed through something like this had I been reading anything else, but I really wanted to let you guys know how I felt. This story is my baby, and I love it to Death. Lol. ;D

There is no other way to say it… Thank you.

Have fun reading,

Leelei

Archived at: Ransomed Heart's Fan Fiction Page

* * *

Ulrich shifted his weight in the soft bed as he was coming back to his senses. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital, with several beeping machines around him. Quickly he panicked, sitting up and supporting himself by pushing his hands down on the bed, but then a sharp, physical pains surged up his back and through his palms. With a small cry, he gritted his teeth and tightly shut his eyes again, laying back down. 

When he reopened them a few moments later, a nurse had arrived and was checking his monitors. "Oh!" she said after looking over and realizing he was awake. "Good, you're up early. Just as the doctor had predicted." She had a kind look to her, with a comforting smile to match.

Ulrich could feel his breathing quicken as his sight darted around the room. "Where am I?" he asked, his mind finally picking out a question from the many that were plaguing him.

"Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about," the nurse replied calmly as she stepped over to his bed. "You're in the hospital right now. We needed to treat you for some minor injuries you received from a car accident that you were involved in earlier this evening. Honey, could you please tell me your name?"

Ulrich could see that she had clipboard in her hand, undoubtedly with at least his name on it, but knew that she had to test his memory for amnesia or any other damage. "Ulrich," he finally answered. "My name's Ulrich Stern. I go to Kadic Jr. High. I'm…I'm a boarding student there."

The nurse smiled again and wrote something down. "Well, Ulrich, the doctor has just stepped out for his break, but he'll be back shortly to speak with you about what has happened, and any pain that you might be experiencing right now. Until then, there are some people that have been waiting a long time to see you."

Ulrich's eyes suddenly widened. "There are?"

"Yes. I'll send them in now." The nurse left him with another smile, clutching her clipboard as she walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

A wave of emotions immediately filled him as Ulrich thought about his friends. _'Will I really get to see them again?' _he thought, his experience without them causing him to loose grip on reality. Soon, he pushed himself up again and grinned. "Oh my god…" he wondered out loud. "I think I'm back!"

His attention jerked to the entrance of the room as he heard loud footsteps running through the hall. Suddenly they stopped and the door slammed open, Ulrich crying out at the sight of his first visitor, "_Yumi!_"

"Oh, Ulrich!" Fourteen-year-old Yumi ran over, throwing her arms around him, seeming to be minding his injuries as she buried her red, tear-stained face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ulrich!" she started to sob. "I'm sorry!"

"Shh," Ulrich responded as he put his arms around her, gently rubbing her back as he held his girlfriend close to him. "It's okay," he told her. "I'm okay." He pulled her slightly away from him, gazing into her dark, sparkling eyes. "_We're_ okay."

Yumi's sorrowful features quickly changed as she smiled. She leaned in, pressing her lips against his as they hugged again. They parted just as the others came in, her parents leading the group.

"Yumi!" her mother exclaimed, seeming worried about her daughter's haste, but then smiled when she saw Ulrich awake. "Ulrich, oh it's so good to see that you're all right, dear."

Yumi's father followed in with her. "I'm glad you're okay, son," he said with an appreciative smile of his own.

"Thanks," Ulrich replied. He looked over at the others filling the room; the principal came in next, then Dorothy and Jim, all letting them know their happiness to see him as they were followed by his two young, sullen friends, Odd and Jeremie.

"Ulrich!" the two boys cried as they raced over next to Yumi.

"Man, did you ever give us the _worst _scare!" exclaimed Odd as he brightened at the sight of his friend.

"He's right," Jeremie added with a grin. "You really had us worried, Ulrich. It's good to see that you're up!"

Ulrich looked around at all the people surrounding him and smiled. "You…you guys have no idea how grateful I am to see you…"

The principal came over to the other side of his bed. "Ulrich, I contacted your parents earlier. They had just arrived at the airport and should be here within the hour."

"Thank you," replied Ulrich, anxiousness already building inside of him not only just to see his parents, but to see them _together. _Then he remembered another thought and looked to Jeremie as the principal took his spot again to speak with the adults. "Jeremie," he lowered his voice. "Is Aelita okay?"

The young blonde gave him a confused look but also kept his voice to a whisper, "Yeah, she's fine. Why?" Then he seemed to remember as well. "Oh! Don't worry, Ulrich. It really was just an old trick. I checked with her earlier on my laptop, and she's perfectly fine."

"A little worried after hearing about her trusty swordsman over here," Odd joined in the quiet conversation, "but she'll be happy to know that you're okay." He winked at Ulrich. The brunette boy shared a smile with him, happy to see his best friend again as he had always known him.

"Oh," Yumi interjected. "Ulrich, you won't believe what Sissi brought you."

"What is it?"

"Look," Yumi glanced back to Jim and Dorothy, each hearing her and unrolling a long banner that read 'Get Well, Ulrich' with hundreds of signatures on it.

"After she heard what happened to you, she woke everyone up at the school and had them all sign it," Odd explained. "Mrs. Hertz drove her up here to drop it off."

Ulrich looked over the banner, not being able to read every signature from his distance, but smiling at all the writing he could see. "Is Sissi still here?" he asked, looking to the principal.

"…No, Ulrich, I'm sorry," the administrator apologized uneasily. "She was still too emotional for me to let her stay."

"Look, Ulrich, she and Milly signed the largest on each end. " Jeremie pointed back to the large, red-colored paper. "They were both really upset when they heard what happened to you."

Ulrich could make out almost whole lines from their long messages. "If I write something, will you please take it back to them?" he asked hopefully. The principal nodded. "Wow…I can't wait to talk to them again…_all_ of them…"

"There's one from your soccer team, too." Odd pointed out a large, circular poster of paper cut out to look like a soccer ball with signatures and messages on it as well, already taped to the wall.

"We're not a team without you, Ulrich," said Jim after he and Dorothy had rolled up the first poster.

"Oh, I know." Ulrich smirked. "Tell them I promise to be back on the field as soon as I'm allowed to."

Dorothy had made her way over to him by then, having handed off her end of Sissi's poster to Jim, and stood on the other side of Yumi. "Ulrich, you look so well. I was very worried when I heard that you were involved in such an accident."

Ulrich suddenly felt confused. "Did they say what happened to me?" he asked her, the emotion showing on his features.

"As far as we were told, you were involved in a low-speed car accident," the nurse replied. "But the doctor said earlier that you're walking away with the least amount of injuries he's ever seen in this type of case."

Ulrich then felt a pain on his forehead, the creasing of his brow causing more discomfort than usual. He reached up and put his fingers to a row of stitches above his left eye. When he pulled his hand away, he noticed that it was red, knowing both would be from tripping during school, but also no doubt from skidding against he concrete while he was falling a second time during the accident. The scratches had been treated, he realized as he looked at both hands, and were already starting to heal. He knew that his back was hurt somehow, but not too badly as he only felt pain with sudden or large movements.

He looked over to his right hip, sensing something was wrong. Pulling back his bed sheets, he saw a large, black bruise as he peeked through his green hospital gown. His eyes widened and he remained still at the sight of the injury.

"Are you in any pain now?" Dorothy asked.

"A little…" Ulrich answered. "But…it's actually not that bad. I'll be okay."

"Good," said the school nurse. "You only have about a two-day recovery time before you can come back to Kadic." She smiled. "After that, I heard the doctor say that you should be walking, running, and playing soccer again in no time."

"Really?" Ulrich looked back to her, replying eagerly. 

Still smiling, Dorothy nodded. "Ulrich, you should know that you're situation has amazed many already. None of the police or staff in this building could believe how minor all of your injuries are compared to those they usually see people suffer from after being hit by a car."

"Yeah, Ulrich," Odd chimed in. "You're the luckiest person alive right now!"

Ulrich was examining his injuries again as they spoke, but his attention shot up to Odd as the blonde boy added his opinion. Then he forgot about his physical pain, gazing at all the people surrounding him.

Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama stood next to Jim, Yumi's father's arm around his wife's waist as she leaned against him, both smiling at Ulrich's interactions with everyone in the room. Jim still held Sissi's poster, also smiling as Ulrich looked to him. The principal was next, seeming to still be wringing his hands, as the brunette boy knew he must have been earlier before the administrator knew of his condition.

Then he saw Dorothy, smiling before she stepped back to take a look at his monitors. He was left with his three friends surrounding him. As he looked at each of their faces, tears built up in his eyes. "I can't believe I'm back…" he mumbled.

"What?" Yumi asked, not hearing him.

He gazed into her eyes. They were the same as the ones he remembered looking into at his gravesite, but he felt burdens lifting from his shoulders to see that they weren't hopeless anymore. "I love you so much…" he said softly, almost under his breath as a tear streaked down his cheek.

"Ulrich…" Yumi reached over and gently held his hand. She smiled, whispering in return. "I will always love you."

Ulrich felt fulfilled, knowing that he would have another chance with the girl that truly loved him, and that he absolutely loved in return. He then looked over to his other friends.

Seeing Odd made him feel uncomfortable at first, but after he had heard him, he could tell that he was back to his old self. He knew then that he could count on him to be the same crazy, trustworthy, good-intentioned friend that he was before. Smiling, he looked to his third best friend.

Jeremie seemed to have been grinning the entire time. Ulrich was overwhelmed with relief to see the young boy happy and smiling, the blonde then pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and smiling as he made eye contact with Ulrich. He couldn't put into words how much he appreciated seeing Jeremie as his young, bright self again.

"You're right, Odd." Ulrich said, gazing at everyone in the room once more.

"Right about what?" his friend asked.

The audience in the room then heard more footsteps in the hallway, their attention turning to the new voices through the opened doorway. "Mr. and Mrs. Stern, you're son is in this room, just up this way," they could hear an older man, possibly the doctor, saying.

Ulrich started laughing. Everyone suddenly looked back to him, startled by his random action, but he spoke up again. "I am the luckiest person," he said, as he laid back, comfort taking over him as he looked upwards. He was crying, the tears streaming freely down his cheeks, but smiled as he knew he received everything that he had wished for. "Because…I'm alive again."

The End

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Many more fics coming soon. Until then (yes, I still must ask, lol), please review! : ) 


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